HOLGATE, Ohio — A 13-year-old girl is dead after a house fire in Henry County Tuesday morning.
The fire happened at a home on County Road H in Monroe Township. Family members who were able to get out of the house safely said Jerzi Rae-Lynn Harris, 13, was unaccounted for. Fire crews later found her body in the house.
Two grandparents, Jerzi and another child lived in the home. Another child was a friend who was staying over for the night. All the other family members were able to get out safely, including the other children.
Two state fire marshals responded to the scene to determine the cause of the fire.
Fire crews say there were flames pouring from every window and the roof when they arrived. The fire was so hot it also engulfed two cars.
"I got out of my last profession so I didn't have to make these notifications anymore," said Fire Chief Randy Nye of the Monroe Township Fire Dept. "It's really tough to have do that and tell the grandparents. They've been very good through this whole ordeal. It's just too bad."
Neighbors said they heard an explosion and went outside to find the house on fire, however the fire chief doesn't believe an explosion caused the fire itself.
"They had some young chicks and a heat lamp in the garage area. Those are all things we have to look at and try to determine if that's the cause."
He adds the family awakened to fire alarms and smoke detectors going off which may have saved the rest of the family.
The Monroe Township Fire Department, the Napoleon Fire Department, Village of Florida Fire Department, the Hamler Fire Department, the Malinta Fire Department and the Holgate Fire Department assisted at this fire. It took the departments four-and-a-half hours to get the fire out.
The Red Cross is helping the family with disaster and mental health assistance.
