Child dies in fire set by brother

A young child died Monday in a fire started by one of her brothers at their home in far northeastern Iowa. Dubuque County sheriff’s Captain Greg Egan says the call came in early Monday afternoon. He says the mother and two young boys were able to escape but the infant was still inside. A sheriff’s deputy who’d been patrolling in the neighborhood when the call came in tried to get in and rescue the baby but was driven back by the smoke and heat. It was some time before firefighters were able to get into the back bedroom the retrieve the child. The baby was taken to a Dubuque hospital where she was pronounced dead. Captain Egan says the boys were 6 and 8 years old, and they determined that oneo f the boys had been playing with a lighter and set fire to a roll of toilet paper in the bathroom. Talking with the state fire marshall and local cononer they’ve determined the cause of the fire was accidental and the reason for the baby’s death was smoke inhalation and caerbon monoxide poisoning. The children’s father was gone at work when the fire broke out. The mobile-home park is just outside the northern city limits of Dubuque. Captain Egan says the victim of the fire’s identified as 6-month-old April Hansen, the half-sister of the two boys.