Three people are now dead, after a fire at a group home for disabled people in Fond du Lac.
Fire Chief Peter O’Leary says the fire started on the front porch of the house in the 600 block of S. Military Road this morning. He says it spread quickly, and all of the victims were on the second floor.
O’Leary says they did some quick searches of rooms on the second floor, using ladders, and that’s how they found the first victim. He says they knew at that point that the fire was not survivable, if people couldn’t escape right way.
O’Leary says they don’t know yet why the victims couldn’t get out. He says they also aren’t sure if the smoke alarms were working, or whether they had a plan to escape.
The people in the house have cognitive disabilities, and O’Leary says a caretaker checks on them throughout the week, but they live independently.
