Iowa house fire that killed 4 children blamed on power strip

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

A house fire that killed four children in northern Iowa was caused by an electrical power strip, authorities said Thursday.

The blaze was reported early Wednesday in Mason City, and when firefighters arrived they found flames engulfing the first and second stories of the home, built in the 1880s.

Fire officials said the blaze began at a power strip on the main floor of the three-story home, according to KIMT-TV, though they did not specify how the strip caused it.

The four children killed were identified as John Michael Mcluer, 12; Odin Thor Mcluer, 10; Drako Mcluer, 6; and Phenix Mcluer, 3.

Two residents — John Michael Mcluer, 55, and Ravan Dawn Mcluer, 11 — escaped. They suffered burns and were treated at a hospital.

Mason City, a community of about 27,000 people, is 110 miles (177 kilometers) north of Des Moines.