4 Kids, 2 Adults Killed in Pennsylvania House Fire

The sole survivor of a deadly house fire in western Pennsylvania lost his new wife, her four young children and his father in the Saturday morning blaze after the recently married couple tried to save their loved ones, family members said.

The fire in the Pittsburgh suburb of McKeesport claimed the lives of Hope Jordan and four children ages 2 to 7, as well as the surviving victim's paralyzed father, according to family members.

Twenty-three-year-old Keith Egenlauf was hospitalized with burns over 55 percent of his body from the fast-moving fire that erupted shortly before 7 a.m. Saturday, according to his aunt, Donna Ackerman.

Egenlauf and Jordan, who had been married for a year, initially escaped the flames but went back into the burning two-story house to try to save Jordan's children and Egenlauf's 56-year-old father, Ronald Egenlauf, family members said.

Relatives identified the children as Jordan's son and three daughters: Dominic Jordan, 7; Autumn Jordan, 6; Serenity Jakub, 3; and Victoria Jakub, 2.

Ronald Egenlauf had been paralyzed from a stroke that he suffered about six years ago during surgery to repair an aneurysm, according to the family.

Keith Egenlauf was listed in critical condition Saturday afternoon at the burn unit of UPMC Mercy hospital in Pittsburgh, a spokeswoman said.

Mary Benton, another aunt, who like Ackerman was a sister of the elder Egenlauf, said father and son were always close.

"He stayed beside his dad no matter what. His dad didn't do anything without him," she said.

Father and son had lived in the yellow wood-frame house for about 10 years, Ackerman said.

Authorities say it may take days to trace the cause of the fire.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
Contact Us