A five-month-old boy was killed in a house fire in Newton on Tuesday afternoon, the 34th fire death in Iowa this year. Police say Chase Edward Finch apparently died from injuries sustained in the fire.
An autopsy will be performed. The cause of the fire is under investigation. Flames were in the kitchen of the one-story house and quickly filled the house with smoke. Neighbors say one of two men who live in the house is the ex-husband of the infant’s mother, but he’s not the child’s father. He was reportedly babysitting.
Both men were reportedly outside the house, talking, when the fire was discovered. The men and neighbors tried to get to the infant, even using a garden hose, but the heat and smoke were too intense. The boy was reportedly sleeping in a car seat in the kitchen. The fire was quickly extinguished and damage to the house was limited.