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Fire kills 7 in West Virginia

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published January 15, 2007

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - Fire ravaged an apartment building, killing at least seven people, including a child, and authorities said Sunday that they feared the death count could grow.

The fire broke out in the 64-unit, five-story building late Saturday. Firefighters discovered two bodies and a child on the building's top floor while fighting the blaze, and crews found four more bodies Sunday morning on that floor, fire Chief Greg Fuller said. The child died on the way to a hospital. The victims' identities were not released Sunday.

"We have not been able to complete the search," Fuller said. Some of the fifth story was blocked when the building's roof and part of that floor collapsed.

Fuller said there were some smoke alarms in the building, which housed city residents and Marshall University students, but he was unsure how many were working. He was not aware of any fire code violations.

Fourteen people were rescued, Fuller said, and one was in critical condition Sunday night. Three were in serious condition. One firefighter was treated for smoke inhalation and released.

Firefighters had called off their search for trapped residents during the night out of fear the structure could collapse, city Fire Marshal David Bias said.

"It's a very sad day," he said. "It's very troubling when you have a building of this size and you work as hard as they have and you just come up a little short."

The fire was reported around 11 p.m. Saturday. Fire departments from nearby Ohio and Kentucky also responded.

Bias said it could take days to determine the cause of the blaze, which began in a second-floor unit. From that apartment, flames and smoke shot up utility access channels to the upper floors, Fuller said.

The structure, built in 1924, is owned by Woodlark Enterprises Inc. of White Plains, N.Y., Fuller said. A message left at the company was not immediately returned.

[Last modified January 14, 2007, 23:59:59]