SODUS TOWNSHIP, Mich. (FOX17/AP) — Authorities say a fire that killed five children and their mother at a Michigan motel appears to have been an accident.
The Berrien County sheriff's office says experts found no evidence of an accelerant that would have started the deadly blaze early Saturday at the Cosmo Extended Stay Motel in Sodus Township. The precise cause still is under investigation.
The fire began in a first-floor room of the two-story motel killing Kiarre Curtis, 26, and five of her children died in a room on the second floor.
Her children have been identified as Marquise Thompson, 10, Gerome Randolph, 7, Samuel Curtis, 5, Savod Curtis, 4 and Avery Curtis, 2.
The sheriff's office said Sunday that autopsies confirmed all six died of smoke inhalation.
Curtis' husband and a 1-year-old child survived.
A memorial has been set up outside the motel to honor the victims.
The sheriff's office says investigators are also examining the motel's fire alarms and smoke detectors.
If you are interested in helping families displaced by the fire, items like clothing and household supplies can be donated at Upton Middle School, in St. Joseph.
