4 Children Killed as Fire Tears Through Multifamily Home in Connecticut

SOMERS, Conn.—A fire that raced through a two-family home in northern Connecticut on Tuesday night killed four children and several animals as firefighters struggled with rescue efforts because of clutter, authorities said. The four children who died in the Somers blaze were ages 5, 6, 8, and 12 and lived in one side of the house with their mother and three other siblings, fire and town officials said. The mother was not home at the time and her 19-year-old daughter, who was watching over the other children, escaped by jumping out of a second-story window, First Selectman Tim Keeney said. It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the fire in the close-knit town of just under 10,000 people about 25 miles (40 kilometers) northeast of Hartford. State and local officials were investigating. The blaze did not appear to be caused by a criminal act, State Trooper First Class Pedro Muniz said....