A mother and three children were killed in a house fire in an Akron neighborhood this morning.
It happened around 9:15 a.m. in the area of 18th St. and Battles Ave in Kenmore.
A spokesperson from the Akron Fire Department said crews were not able to enter the home to search for trapped victims due to the temperature and volume of the fire.
One man, the mother's fiance, was able to get out.
The children were five, seven and 10 years old. The age of the mother is not yet known. The bodies have been taken to the Summit County Medical Examiner's office for investigation into the cause of death.
Lt. Sierje Lash said the fire was diffcult to fight due to the extreme cold weather conditions.
"A condition that we had to consider constantly was the ice from the water, so they had to pay attention to their surroundings," she said. "On any normal fire, our firefighters, our fire crews, have to pay attention to what's going on inside the house, but today especially, they had to pay attention to both inside and outside."
Lash also said an Akron METRO RTA bus was stationed at the scene this afternoon so firefighters could take turns warming up on the bus.
In a statement, Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan said he was "greatly saddened by the loss of life in Akron today" and called on Akronites to "keep all those affected by today's tragedy in their hearts and prayers."
The Akron Fire Department is investigating the cause of the fire.