A fire at a farmhouse killed seven children Tuesday while their mother was in a barn milking cows and their father was taking a nap in a milk delivery truck, a state trooper said.
One child survived. Those who perished ranged in age from 7 months to 11 years.
The children's father had left the two-story home, on a working farm not far from the state capital, to get his truck around 10 p.m. Tuesday, Trooper Tom Pinkerton said. Two children, ages 2 and 3, were watching television at the time.
The father drove a short distance away to pick up milk, parked the truck and nodded off, Pinkerton said.
Soon after, one of the children smelled smoke in the home and ran to the barn to alert the mother, Pinkerton said. 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.
By the time the father returned to the home in Blain, about 20 miles north of Harrisburg, it was fully engulfed by flames, Pinkerton said. Firefighters had arrived and were battling the blaze.
No cause or origin of the fire had been determined. Fire marshals were investigating.
Authorities closed part of a highway near the farm because of the fire and the investigation. The highway, Route 274, was shut in both directions, and traffic was rerouted.
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