An early morning house fire in southern Ohio has killed four people. Portsmouth Fire Chief Bill Raison says three adults and a child were in the burning home. 41-year-old Colby Lynch and 53-year-old Sandi Schalit, both of Portsmouth died in the house. 53-year-old Lea Ann Woods and her grandchild, Meyleigh Snipes, both of Westerville were also in the building. Paramedics took them to the Southern Ohio Medical Center where they were pronounced dead.

Raison says police patrolling the neighborhood smelled smoke and saw flames break through a window of the house. An Ohio fire marshal spokesman says the two-story, single-family home did not have a working smoke detector. The cause of the fire is still unknown. Authorities are treating this as a crime scene during their investigation.