7 children killed in farmhouse fire as 'father sleeps in truck' in Pennysylvania

Seven children died in a fire that ripped through their farmhouse while their mother was milking cows and their father was napping in a delivery truck.

The children’s father left the home at around 10pm yesterday while some of the children watched TV inside.

But he pulled over and took a nap before retuing home. A short time later flames ripped through the two-storey home in the small town of Blaine, 20 miles north of Harrisburg in rural Pennsylvania.

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Although the names of the parents have not officially been released, it has been reported that the parents are Theodore and Janelle Clouse.

It is understood that the father drove a short distance away to collect milk and planned to retu. He then nodded off in the truck.

Meanwhile, the mother was milking cows in a ba close to the building when the fire broke out.

There was speculation the blaze may have started in the kitchen, where the family used a propane heater.

State Trooper Tom Pinkerton said that one of the children smelled smoke inside the home and ran to the ba to alert the mother.

The mother called 911 and ran with the child the short distance to the father's truck and banged on its windows, screaming that their home was on fire, he said.

But by the time the father retued home the building was fully engulfed by flames. Two children, ages 2 and 3, were watching television at the time.

Tragic: State Trooper Tom Pinkerton speaks outside the home about the horror

Firefighters arrived to battle the blaze but they were unable to save the seven young children. No cause or origin of the fire has yet been determined but fire experts are investigating.

Trooper Pinkerton said: ‘While mom's milking cows, her three-year-old daughter comes running into the ba and the 3-year-old tells the mother that there's smoke inside the house.

‘Mom leaves the ba, comes running out, sees that the house appears to be on fire.’

The Perry County coroner ruled the children died of smoke inhalation, Pinkerton said. Officials said they were six girls, ranging in age from 7 months to 11 years old and a 7-year-old boy.

A neighbour, Deana Doran, said her dog's barking woke her up around 11 pm and she thought she heard someone calling, 'Hello! Hello!'

Mrs Doran said she saw the first-floor rear of the home buing and dialled 911.

Once she got outside she saw the flames spreading to the rest of the home.

Remote: Firefighters were called to the fire in the town of Blaine, 20 miles north of Harrisburg, after the children's mother alerted neighbors to the fire

Mrs Doran said her 10-year-old son was friends with the 11-year-old girl who lived at the home.

She said: 'He plays with her every day, I don't know how I'm going to handle this with him.'

Friends and family were outside the gutted home on Wednesday moing to help milk cows and do other chores.

The children's grandfather Noah Sauder said the parents were awake and talking to people, just trying to find ways to cope with the tragedy.

The father, he said, was out talking to friends and workers on the farm.

'He seems he might be just as good as to keep a little busy,' said Sauder, who at times struggled to express his emotions. 'It's really hard, I'm sure.'

The house is one of a cluster of homes near an intersection in Loysville, a rural stretch of farm land about 25 miles west of Harrisburg.

Police said the family wasn't Mennonite, although many Amish and Mennonite families live in the area.

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