ORANGE — A house fire took the lives of two children on Saturday afternoon, fire investigators reported.
Smoke billowed from the roof and windows of the single-family home at 34 Mechanic St as firefighters from about nine area fire departments battled the flames.
Investigation into the origin and cause of the fire continued through Sunday, conducted by Orange fire and police departments and State Police assigned to both the office of the state fire marshal and the Northwestern district attorney, according to the state fire marshal’s spokesman.
Identities and ages of the victims were not immediately available, although investigators described them as “young children.” The fire also sent three to the hospital.
Three Orange firefighters were the first emergency personnel to arrive at the two-story house fire, where two people were reported trapped inside.
Retired Orange Fire Chief Dennis Annear — who acted as the spokesman at the scene — could not confirm whether or not the two trapped individuals survived. It was unclear whether they, in fact, were the two victims referred to by the state fire marshal’s office late Saturday night. Other adults did escape the burning residence and were rushed to Athol Hospital by ambulance, then transferred to the trauma center of the University of Massachusetts Memorial Medical Center in Worcester.
The extent of their injuries was unknown.
Thick smoke continued to billow from the second-story windows of the yellow building for hours after the 4:42 p.m. initial emergency call was placed. The state fire marshal was called in to investigate.
Neighboring houses were not affected by the flames, but the power was shut down to all residences on the street, and the road was closed during firefighting.
Firefighters from Northfield, Turners Falls, Warwick , Erving, New Salem, Athol, Phillipston, Royalston, as well as five ambulance companies, were dispatched to the scene, while Greenfield firefighters covered the Orange station. The scene attracted a steady group of onlookers from the area throughout the evening, kept back by yellow tape.