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5 children die in Youngstown fire, mother hurt

Authorities are working to determine the cause of the fire.

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- Authorities say a house fire has killed five young children in Northeast Ohio.

Youngstown Fire Capt. Kurt Wright says the first floor of the house was engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived around 11:30 p.m. Sunday. Wright says three children were ages 9, 3 and 2 and the other two were 1-year-old twins.

RELATED: Coroner identifies 5 children killed in Youngstown house fire

Wright says firefighters managed to pull three of the children from the house, but they died at a nearby hospital.

Credit: Amani Abraham
A makeshift memorial outside the Youngstown home where five children died in an overnight fire.

The captain says the mother jumped from a second-floor window and is hospitalized with injuries. No one else was in the home.

Officials told WKYC that the mother is in critical condition at Metrohealth Medical Center. 

Aaron Baldwin, who lives across the street, told WKYC that the mother was pleading for help from neighbors after escaping the house fire. Baldwin said the house was engulfed in flames when he went outside late Sunday night.

“It was nothing [the mom] could do,” said Baldwni. “There’s nothing nobody could do. How she made it out was a miracle.”

A memorial continues to grow outside the home as community members have placed dozens of stuffed animals and balloons around a tree in front of the home.

Community leaders are coming together to collect donations for the family and have organized a fundraiser that has been set for Tuesday, Dec. 18.For more information, click here.

Wright says two firefighters were injured. One was treated at the scene and the other was taken to a hospital for treatment and released.

The captain says the cause of the fire is under investigation.

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