6-year-old girl among 2 dead in Gary fire
GARY, Ind. - A 6-year-old girl and a man died in a house fire Tuesday morning in northwest Indiana.
The fire broke out about 4:45 a.m. in the 500 block of Maryland Street in Gary, according to Gary Fire Dept. Deputy Chief Mark Everette.
Firefighters found the child’s grandmother outside, who indicated that two others were still in the first level of the two-story home, he said.
Crews battled heavy smoke and flames, and entered the rear of the home, Everette said. Firefighters found the girl in the living room and brought her outside and began life-saving efforts. She was taken to Northlake Methodist Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. The child was identified as Ciara Brown, according to The (Northwest Indiana) Times.
A 30-year-old man found in a bedroom on the first floor died at the scene, Everette said. He was identified as Dennis Liggins.
The grandmother was flown to a Chicago hospital for treatment of severe respiratory distress.
The residents of the second floor of the duplex had safely evacuated before firefighters arrived, Everette said.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
The Lake County coroner’s office has not released details on the deaths.
Associated Press contributed to this report.