UPDATE: The State fire marshal has ruled the fire accidental. Investigators say the blaze began in the laundry room. They source was electrical, they say. They also believe the family could not escape through the front door because of the fire nor through the back door because it was sealed by expandable insulating foam.
The home also had no working smoke detectors, investigators say.
ADA, Ohio -- In is one of the deadliest fires in a small town's history, an Ada family of five was killed by an early morning blaze.
The fire took place on Lure Street, several blocks from from downtown around 4:30 a.m. April 4, 2008.
News 11's Colleen Wells spent the day in Ada.
The signs of young family are still obvious around this fire-damaged mobile home: kids' toys and a wagon rest by the step.
It is a somber reminder of the lives lost here.
Husband and wife Thomas and Shirley Farkasdi, and their three children, 7-year-old Tiffany, 6-year-old Jessica, and 4-month-old Joseph were all killed. Their home caught fire while they were sleeping. Thomas, Shirley and their infant son died at the scene. The two girls died after they were taken to Lima Memorial Hospital.
Neighbor Tina Ashbrook tells News 11, "They all were a very, very close family." She is in shock knowing the entire family is gone.
The girls were in first grade and kindergarten at Ada Elementary.
"They were just beautiful children. They were very loving, very playful. They were actually really good kids," Ashbrook says.
Other stunned neighbors watched fire investigators work. Firefighters say the blaze is accidental, but believe it could have been smoldering for up to an hour before they got the call. When they arrived, flames were shooting some 20 feet from the home.
Grief counselors are working with the girls' elementary school and with firefighters, who are still reeling from the early morning blaze.
