By Margaret Kadifa
Houston Chronicle
CONROE, Texas — At least three children are dead after a house fire near Conroe early Friday morning, according to the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office.
Three other residents of the home, one child and two adults, were transported to the hospital in critical condition.
Three police officers were also taken to the hospital, but with non-life-threatening injuries, said Scott Spencer, spokesman for the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office.
The blaze - at the intersection of Johnson and Tamino roads - started in a two-story home around 4 a.m., local television stations report.
It spread to two other structures before firefighters were able to extinguish the flames.
At least six people, including the three deceased children and the three injured residents, were in two-story house when the fire sparked.
The deceased children were between the ages of 6 and 13, Spencer said.
The age of the house and the extent the blaze had already spread by the time firefighters arrived were what made the fire fatal, said Montgomery County Fire Marshall Jimmy Williams.
The injured officers - two with the Shenandoah Police Department and one with the Oak Ridge Police Department - were hurt as they entered the house, trying to get family members out, Spencer said.
Authorities did not release the names of the dead and injured residents Friday morning, pending family notification.
Officials are asking residents to avoid the area. Nearby roads are blocked.
https://twitter.com/MCfiremarshal/status/862986837694054400
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