North Carolina house fire leaves 3 children under the age of 5 dead

Three children under the age of 5 are dead and their mother was taken to a hospital after a house fire in North Carolina on Monday morning, authorities said.

EXPLOSION AT IOWA BEAN CRUSHING PLANT INJURES AT LEAST 5

Greensboro Deputy Fire Chief Dwayne Church says firefighters called to a home on Grimsley Street around 8 a.m. learned that there might be children inside and found fire coming out of the windows and the front door, news outlets reported. It took firefighters about five minutes of battling the blaze to reach the children, but Church said the children were dead. The mother was taken to a hospital and was in stable condition, he said.

Neighbors reported that there were seven kids living in the house at one point, but firefighters searched the home and did not find other children, Church said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation and the children’s bodies will be sent to the medical examiner’s office.