Authorities have determined the cause of a fire that killed a mother and four of her children last weekend in Massachusetts.
The State Fire Marshal's office said Saturday's fatal fire on Richmond Road in Warwick started as a woodstove fire that quickly spread through the home when nearby items caught fire.
Lucinda Seago and four of her children - a 7-year-old, a 9-year-old, a 12-year-old and a 15-year-old - died in the fire.
Seago's husband and another child survived the blaze.
The names of the Seago children who died in the fire have not been released.
Warwick Fire Chief Ronald Gates said the family's home was fully engulfed by the blaze when firefighters first arrived. Fire crews said efforts to put out the fire were hindered by sub-zero temperatures, a lack of a water resource, and the fact that the home was located on a narrow dirt road.
"This is a small community of neighbors helping neighbors and our hearts with the loss of the Seago family has suffered," he said.
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Warwick firefighters received mutual aid from 16 other fire departments from Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire.
