Space Heater Possible Cause Of Fatal House Fire In Noble County

The Noble County Sheriff's Office said a space heater may have led to a fire that killed a child and her mother early Wednesday morning.

Deputies responded to a property on 3rd Street at around 4:17 a.m. in Red Rock, said Noble County Sheriff Matt McGuire. A camper and an abandoned building next to it were both on fire.

McGuire said a 9-year-old child and her mother, who was in her early 40s, died in the fire. The two were staying inside the camper, the sheriff said.

"It's hard to comprehend as far as what the family is going through and loved ones. I don't want to take away from that at all by even thinking about the emotions I had," said McGuire. 

Frontier Public Schools said the girl who died was one of the district's students.

"I am very saddened to inform you that early (Wednesday) morning one of our Frontier Elementary students and her mother passed away in a tragic house fire," the district posted on Facebook. "Our Frontier staff and students have been informed about this terrible tragedy. We have an outside counseling agency on site, as well as our school counselors available to any student or staff member that may need assistance. Please keep this family in your thoughts and prayers."

McGuire said the cause of the fire appeared to be electrical in nature, possibly involving a space heater.

"Unless we receive information that leads us to believe otherwise in the upcoming days or as we continue to investigate it, but right now we feel like this is a horrible tragic incident," said McGuire.

No one else was hurt, McGuire said. It was unclear whether there was a working smoke detector.