Woman, Three Children Die In House Fire

KOKOMO, Ind. -- A woman and three children died and a man was injured as a result of a fire in their two-story home Sunday morning, the Kokomo Fire Department said.

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Man Jumped Out Window To Escape

Four people -- Amy Parrish, 25; her sons Dacota Rasmussen, 4, and Caleb Parrish, 2; and her stepson, Casey Parrish, 11 -- died of smoke inhalation during the fire at 811 S. Bell St., according to the Howard County coroner's office.

Parrish's husband, Mike Parrish, 37, jumped from a second-story window to escape the blaze, which was reported to firefighters at about 8 a.m., RTV6's Jennifer Carmack reported. He was sent to a hospital with unspecified injuries, and his condition was described as stable.

The couple's 1-year-old daughter was staying elsewhere with a cousin at the time of the fire, RTV6's Jeremy Brilliant reported.

Mike Parrish's stepbrother, Jerry Gibson, said he had heard that Amy Parrish had alerted her husband to the fire.

"He tried to bust a window so they could get out," Gibson said. "She went back for the children, and none of them made it out of the house."

Witnesses said Mike Parrish, once outside, was yelling that people were in the burning home. Witnesses said flames were too intense for a rescue attempt.

"I just wish we could have done something better to help him out, but once we saw how big those flames were, we couldn't do much," said a neighbor, Justin Hall.

The fire's cause was under investigation Sunday, the fire department said.

Family Thankful That Baby Wasn't In Home

Relatives of the Parrishes said they were thankful that the couple's 1-year-old daughter was with a cousin in another home when the fire happened.

"I'm just so glad that she's here," the cousin, Christina Gibson, said. "I wish everybody else was here, but I'm so glad that she's here, and that Mike has somebody that he can hug and hold onto."

A fund to help the survivors has been established with the People's Burn Foundation. For more information, call (877) 814-2024.