Police: 4 Iowa family members killed in Christmas Day fire

BLUE GRASS, Iowa – Police say all four people killed by an early Christmas morning house fire in eastern Iowa belonged to one family.

The blaze erupted a little after 12:30 a.m. Monday in Blue Grass. Police say one of the four people inside the home managed to escape but died later at a hospital. The three others perished inside the ranch-style house.

Blue Grass police Sgt. Garrett Jahns said Tuesday that he couldn’t release any of the victims’ names or ages yet but that the four were related.

State Fire Marshal Division spokesman Ron Humphrey says the cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Blue Grass is a community of about 1,500 residents 150 miles (240 kilometres) east of Des Moines.