KOKOMO, Ind. — The state fire marshal is investigating the cause of a house fire that killed three children over the weekend in Miami County. The three siblings were just six, five and one year old. The family’s church and school community are devastated and trying to help the mother who survived.
Not much of the house is still standing in rural Kokomo. Six-year-old Miracle, five-year-old Steven, and 18-month-old Wilma Gingerich were in a second-floor room Saturday morning. Their mother, Laura Gingerich, was in a downstairs bathroom when she smelled smoke. She could not get up the stairs to her children because of heavy smoke.
The mother’s call to 911 came in at 10:48 a.m. Firefighters arrived at 11:04 a.m. and pulled the children from the home. All three children were unconscious and not breathing. They were transported by ambulance and died at the hospital.
The mother and children lived in the home with their grandparents, Jake and Wilma Kauffman. The family attends Higher Ground Fellowship in Kokomo.
"Just last week, in the middle of the service, the little 18-month-old, she walked up the aisle right in the middle of the service, came up to the platform and Grandpa had to come up and get her; just kids and we're going to miss that,” said Marlin Beachy, the pastor of Higher Ground Fellowship.
The fire rekindled early Sunday morning. A backhoe ripped off the tin roof and nearly flattened the home to put out the fire for good.
"We as a church, of course, will be there for them,” Beachy said. “We will support them spiritually speaking, and practically, in every other way that we can."
The church has set up a GoFundMe account for the family and will also accept other donations if you contact them through Facebook.
The Maconaquah School Corporation is also collecting money for the family. Donations can be dropped off or mailed to the Maconaquah Administration Building at 7932 South Strawtown Pike, Bunker Hill, IN 46914. Checks can be made out to Maconaquah School Corporation. Any questions related to donations should be directed to the corporate office at 765-689-9131 ext. 1100.
The oldest of the three children, Miracle, was a kindergartener and her brother, Steven, a preschooler at Pipe Creek Elementary School in Peru. The school has about 370 students under the age of eight in preschool, kindergarten and first grade.
All five of the guidance counselors in the small school district were on hand Monday morning to help students and staff process the tragedy.
"I spent the first probably half-hour of the day in Miracle’s kindergarten class with her classmates,” said Laura Fulton, principal of Pipe Creek Elementary School. “Pretty somber, as somber as five- and six-year-olds can be. Her teacher, Miss Burns, shared that (Miracle) was a mother hen in the classroom and really liked to make sure and take care of the other kiddos if they needed some help."
Autopsies for the three children were scheduled Monday afternoon.