Teen killed in early-morning house fire

A teenage girl died Friday morning in her Westerville home as it was consumed by fire.

Hannah Sarver, 17, was one of four people in the house on Allview Road as it caught fire about 5 a.m. She was found dead inside the house, according to Westerville spokeswoman Christa Dickey.

Three others inside were able to escape the flames, two of them by jumping from a second-floor window. The girl’s mother, Michelle Sarver, 47, who was one of the two who jumped, was taken to Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in non-life threatening condition. The other two who escaped did not need to be hospitalized.

Dickey said officials believe the blaze was started by a cooking fire that spread from the kitchen, but the Westerville Fire Division is still investigating.

Responding firefighters did not hear smoke detectors inside the house, Dickey said.

Mike Starner, principal at Westerville South High School where Hannah attended, told students’ families in a letter that the school is providing grief counseling.

“We are deeply saddened by this loss and extend our sincerest condolences to Hannah’s family, friends and loved ones,” he wrote.

He said she was well-liked and admired and her death is a “loss to our Wildcat family.”

Hannah also attended the Delaware Area Career Center.

“Hannah was a student who didn’t have an enemy; she accepted others and loved everyone,” Westerville South teacher Candi Bartlett said in a news release.

School social worker Noelle Spriestersbach said Hannah was determined and fought for what she believed in. “She saw the good in people and was optimistic of a brighter future.”