Overview

• The blaze broke out around 2:30 a.m. in Chadbourn, Columbus County, with deputies arriving to a residence fully consumed by flames.
• Two 12-year-old girls escaped and called 911, and officials said one of them is a sibling of the children who died.
• Authorities said no adults were in the home when the fire started, and no criminal charges have been announced.
• The North Carolina SBI is leading a multi-agency probe with the sheriff’s office and the state fire marshal as autopsies proceed at the Medical Examiner's Office.
• The four victims were identified in local reports and a fundraiser as Kendall, Kalani, Josie and Sophia, ages 2, 4, 6 and 7, as the community organizes memorials and support for the family.