Trooper: Fire in rural Pa. farmhouse kills 7 kids

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So, so sad. :( I feel awful for the parents. I don't blame them at all.
 
This morning on the local news here, I think I was watching KDKA.
It showed the children's school bus stopped briefly, sadly by the house.
I lost it, cried, touched my heart.
Dad was so devastated, he couldn't be interviewed.
Nothing was said about mom.
I thought that was odd.
 
trigger said:
Seven children killed in a Pennsylvania farmhouse fire last night were found in their bedrooms and a crib, the Perry County coroner said. Their parents were not in the Southwest Madison Township house when the fire broke out around 10 last night; their mom, Janelle Clouse, was in a dairy barn close to the house milking cows, and their father, Ted Clouse, was working.

Ted Clouse was at Mike Trout's farm when the fire broke out. In addition to running his farm, Clouse picks up milk for other dairy farmers and delivers it, Trout said.

"It takes about an hour to pick up at my farm," Trout said. It was Ted's routine to take a nap while the truck was loading, Trout said.

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2011/03/pennsylvaia_farmhouse_fire_kil.html
Click to expand...

That explains so much, all in one fell swoop, that a thanks just wasn't enough. Thank you for finding this article.
 
RIP lovely children and bless your parents who will mourn forever.
 
Heartbreaking. Prayers to the family.
 
It''s so awful to look at these rosy-cheeked, obviously well cared for children and realize they are gone.
 
chemcopout said:
WHY??!! would a mother leave an 7 month old baby ALONE in the house??

it's obvious the other children couldn't care for the baby, they're all young.
why was a 2 and 3 year old awake at 10pm at night watching tv? that's awfully young, my kids would have been in bed long before that time!

sounds like the tv was the babysitter.

what was the older children doing? it mentioned an 11 year old girl, did they have a cell phone? the fire must have escalated very very quickly if the mother couldn't have called 911 from the house. i take it no phone in the barn.

my butt would have been up in that house trying to get the other children out.

it's odd that you have children ages 11,9,6,4 (or 3),7, only 2 yrs, and a baby either 11 or 7 months old??? and the youngest ones are still up at 10pm watching tv, did the older children fall asleep?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41983011/ns/us_news-life/

the article above lists the baby as 7 months. either way if you have a baby in the house, why in heck would the mother be out in the barn at 10pm and leave the baby unsupervised???? not to mention the other children??


something stinks here, i'm sure its another senseless tragedy, however had at least one parent been in the house (they have a baby for god's sake!) this whole thing could have been prevented.

i understand they are hard working and all that, however if you have an 7 or 9 or 11 month old baby in the house alone with a bunch of other young children... we all know the dangers of leaving a baby alone for a second.

the parents should have split there chore times so that an adult would be in the house with the baby.

the woman attempted to get in the house, then ran to her neighbors, then goes and runs a mile down the road to rouse the dad who nodded out in his farm truck. by the time they get back the house is fully engulfed in flames. now that's one fast fire!

my prayers for those poor children for got killed in the fire.
this whole thing could have been prevented. what kind of parents leave a tiny baby alone in the house? did they expect the 11 year old to play "mother"? this just isn't right..
Click to expand...


i'm sorry... i must have missed the part where it said that a 7 month old baby was left alone in a house :waitasec:

these people obviously live a very different lifestyle than most people. the mom was raised mennonite and they lived in a mennonite/farming community. the children are taught at a young age and are very self sufficient and often help to care for their younger sibling.. your 11 year old may still need her rear end wiped, but most 11 year olds who grow up in these communities can already cook, clean and sew. my grandma was sewing her own clothing at 12...it's really not all that uncommon and really not something for other people to judge.

i have a 22 month old and a 4 year old who are left in their room every night at 10 watching tv. we're a family of night shift people, so our kids are up later and sleep in later until school starts.. farm work isn't like a regular 9-5... so their kids probably adapted to their schedule so their parents could work.

imo, this is a horrible tragedy that maybe could've been prevented if they had tested their smoke detectors a little better and maped out a fire escape. when was the last time you checked your smoke detectors ot had a fire drill? it could've happened to anyone... regardless of what mom and dad were doing.. they were working ffs... not out at a disco
 
It is not unusual for cows to be milked 3 times a day, our neighbour milks at 10 pm, 6 am and 2 pm.
A propane heater can ignite quickly and in a wooden frame house with drafty windows and filled with furniture the smoke produced can be deadly within seconds/minutes.
From the photo at the above linked news article it appears the barn was quite close to the house. How many of us have put the children to bed and than sat out on the back deck to enjoy a visit with our spouse, or a relaxing sit in a hot tub.
The reminder to all of us in reading of the horrible tragedy is to check our smoke alarms. As we have a large old farmhouse we have an intercom system on each floor as well as in the driveshed. It picks up less static than a baby moniter and we can press the open button to be able to hear a sleeping child if we are on another floor or outside on the deck or in the driveshed.
My heart breaks for this family, such a horrible, horrible loss.
 
how did the mother know exactly where the father would be sleeping in his milk truck down the road?

if he was only a mile away, why not shake it off and just drive home to sleep?

it just doesn't add up. i really think there's no excuse for those parents to have left a 7 month old baby and a 2 year old baby alone in the house.

normally the parents would be charged with negligence, these parents should be no exception, there's no excuse to leave 2 babies and all those very young children alone.

it's a very sad situation, however i am glad it's being looked into by police. how long had those children been left alone in the house? 2 where BABIES. and the two and three year olds should have been in bed already.

if the son came outside to just say he smelled smoke, then why when the mother went right back to the house with the son was it so engulfed in flames she couldn't get or even warn the other children in there? most parents have their first instinct to run inside to get their children. there had to be more than one entrance or exit.

especially since the barn was so close to the house, the time from when the 3 year old smelled smoke, alerted the mother and she ran back, it was already engulfed in flames so bad she couldn't get in any entrance or even warn the children???

why if the escalation of smoke and fire was so quick, did only 1 child, being the 3 year old get out to warn the mother?

the mother should have waited until the father got home to milk the cows. this isn't some quick process like running outside to check on something. she was milking cows while her babies were alone in the house.

there was mention in another article that the family hadn't PLANNED on having so many children, yet they welcomed them into their home. hmmm

it is nice to see the community helping out the family, however if any such foul play is involved, which it is, as you don't leave babies alone...
 
BlOnDe_GuRrL said:
i'm sorry... i must have missed the part where it said that a 7 month old baby was left alone in a house :waitasec:

these people obviously live a very different lifestyle than most people. the mom was raised mennonite and they lived in a mennonite/farming community. the children are taught at a young age and are very self sufficient and often help to care for their younger sibling.. your 11 year old may still need her rear end wiped, but most 11 year olds who grow up in these communities can already cook, clean and sew. my grandma was sewing her own clothing at 12...it's really not all that uncommon and really not something for other people to judge.

i have a 22 month old and a 4 year old who are left in their room every night at 10 watching tv. we're a family of night shift people, so our kids are up later and sleep in later until school starts.. farm work isn't like a regular 9-5... so their kids probably adapted to their schedule so their parents could work.

imo, this is a horrible tragedy that maybe could've been prevented if they had tested their smoke detectors a little better and maped out a fire escape. when was the last time you checked your smoke detectors ot had a fire drill? it could've happened to anyone... regardless of what mom and dad were doing.. they were working ffs... not out at a disco
Click to expand...

imho, this could not have happened to anyone. had both parents used shifts to take care of their children (2 of which were BABIES) then we wouldn't have this senseless tragedy.

instead of having an 11 year old girl play mother (when she should be actually enjoying her own childhood), obviously if the 11 year old was supposed to be watching the babies, she wasn't. the only one who smelled smoke was a smart little 3 year old. he's the only one who went to alert the mother.

why on god's green earth did any of the older children (supposedly watching the babies as blonde girl stated) smell any smoke?

why wasn't the 11 year old also watching the 2 year old who was watching tv with the 3 year old who is the only one who smelled smoke?

i hope le gets a specialist in there to talk to that little 3 year old boy.

something doesn't sit right with this whole situation.

who was watching the baby, the older child? why didn't she smell smoke, or you would think the 3 year old would also alert other siblings screaming in a panic.
 
most suspicious of all is that this family DID NOT plan on having so many children, yet the mother is pregnant with another one. HMMM

"Sauder said his daughter and son-in-law hadn't planned on such a large family, but welcomed the children."

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2011/03/pennsylvaia_farmhouse_fire_kil.html

if these children were unplanned and unexpected, why would the mother be pregnant again why not use birth control?
this is exactly why people should use birth control, they can't handle taking care of all those children.

i am a firm believer that you do not put a child 11 years old or not in charge of mothering your own children, that 11 year old will be forced to not have a childhood since she's too busy playing mom.
this isn't the 1800s anymore. that's child neglect.

there is no excuse for those babies to be left alone in that house.

if it was normal for the dad to take a nap while he waited for his milk truck to load only a mile down the road, then he should have brought a baby to watch, or brought a bike to ride back to the house to watch the babies there until the milk truck was done.

the parents should have worked something out to take "shifts" so the babies weren't left home alone in that house.

in a patriarchal society of mennonites where boys would be coveted, this family had almost all girls. one boy. should makes you wonder.
 
chemcopout said:
most suspicious of all is that this family DID NOT plan on having so many children, yet the mother is pregnant with another one. HMMM

"Sauder said his daughter and son-in-law hadn't planned on such a large family, but welcomed the children."

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2011/03/pennsylvaia_farmhouse_fire_kil.html

if these children were unplanned and unexpected, why would the mother be pregnant again why not use birth control?
this is exactly why people should use birth control, they can't handle taking care of all those children.

i am a firm believer that you do not put a child 11 years old or not in charge of mothering your own children, that 11 year old will be forced to not have a childhood since she's too busy playing mom.
this isn't the 1800s anymore. that's child neglect.

there is no excuse for those babies to be left alone in that house.

if it was normal for the dad to take a nap while he waited for his milk truck to load only a mile down the road, then he should have brought a baby to watch, or brought a bike to ride back to the house to watch the babies there until the milk truck was done.

the parents should have worked something out to take "shifts" so the babies weren't left home alone in that house.

in a patriarchal society of mennonites where boys would be coveted, this family had almost all girls. one boy. should makes you wonder.
Click to expand...

There are often medical or religious reasons why birth control is not an option. I did not expect to be pregnant with my fifth child at 25...sometimes it just happens. If you actually READ the news articles, ALL of the deceased children were found in their beds, not crowded around a television, as was originally depicted. I don't wonder much about the sex of the children, as that's kinda hard to control...what, should they have stoned to death the girls? Not even understanding that part of the statement. The articles state that it was routine for the father to nap in his truck at the farm a mile away while the milk was being loaded, which took about an hour. Once again, explainable by reading.
 
With all due respect to those with different opinions, many families do not "plan" on how many children they will have. They just let nature take its course. So to say that they had not planned on having such a large family in no way means each child wasn't welcomed and loved. And to say the comment about a male being more coveted than females? I know Mennonites and a couple of Amish and have never ever seen or heard that.

My brother and his wife have five, aged 10 months up to 10 years. Both the 10-yr-old and 8-yr-old routinely help with the younger ones. Not continuously all day long, but if my SIL needs to go hang out clothes or deal with another child, she doesn't hesitate to ask for help.

I am certain that the baby in this family was probably asleep at that time of night, and she knew if the baby woke that the older kids would know either how to help the baby or to go get the mom.

I have friends with four kids: same thing. Heck, my 8-yr-old sometimes has to help with my 3-yr-old at moments when he is needed for some reason.

Saying that these children were being neglected is an awfully harsh statement and undeserving in this situation. Just because someone chooses to live a life different than someone else does not mean there is anything wrong with it.

May these parents and the surviving child find peace and a way to get through this awful tragedy.
 
chemcopout said:
most suspicious of all is that this family DID NOT plan on having so many children, yet the mother is pregnant with another one. HMMM

"Sauder said his daughter and son-in-law hadn't planned on such a large family, but welcomed the children."

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2011/03/pennsylvaia_farmhouse_fire_kil.html

if these children were unplanned and unexpected, why would the mother be pregnant again why not use birth control?
this is exactly why people should use birth control, they can't handle taking care of all those children.

i am a firm believer that you do not put a child 11 years old or not in charge of mothering your own children, that 11 year old will be forced to not have a childhood since she's too busy playing mom.
this isn't the 1800s anymore. that's child neglect.

there is no excuse for those babies to be left alone in that house.

if it was normal for the dad to take a nap while he waited for his milk truck to load only a mile down the road, then he should have brought a baby to watch, or brought a bike to ride back to the house to watch the babies there until the milk truck was done.

the parents should have worked something out to take "shifts" so the babies weren't left home alone in that house.

in a patriarchal society of mennonites where boys would be coveted, this family had almost all girls. one boy. should makes you wonder.
Click to expand...

Forgive me if I am misunderstanding your posts, but are insinuating that that the parents planned or hoped something tragic like this would happen?
Have you actually read all of the articles that have been posted?
 
chemcopout said:
imho, this could not have happened to anyone. had both parents used shifts to take care of their children (2 of which were BABIES) then we wouldn't have this senseless tragedy.

instead of having an 11 year old girl play mother (when she should be actually enjoying her own childhood), obviously if the 11 year old was supposed to be watching the babies, she wasn't. the only one who smelled smoke was a smart little 3 year old. he's the only one who went to alert the mother.

why on god's green earth did any of the older children (supposedly watching the babies as blonde girl stated) smell any smoke?

why wasn't the 11 year old also watching the 2 year old who was watching tv with the 3 year old who is the only one who smelled smoke?

i hope le gets a specialist in there to talk to that little 3 year old boy.

something doesn't sit right with this whole situation.

who was watching the baby, the older child? why didn't she smell smoke, or you would think the 3 year old would also alert other siblings screaming in a panic.
Click to expand...

bbm

Chemcopout, have you ever been in a fire? I have. It is one of the most awful experiences you could imagine.

All of sudden, my apartment was in flames. Was it supposed to be? Nope. The non-flammable shower curtain was as flammable as could be - and waving in the air like a flag of flames. As I tried to put it out, flames literally JUMPED to the ceiling and walls... Before I knew it - in probably a minute or less - black smoke filled the entire apartment, my lungs locked up, and ran out onto the balcony naked. I grabbed my breath and then realized I might be stuck on the balcony b/c the flames were spreading so fast. I ran in, blindly grabbed some dirty clothes on the floor (thankfully I grabbed an oversized t-shirt), and ran around looking for my cat. I could not see a thing and was running around blindly in the smoke. When my lungs locked up again, I barely dove out the door into the stairwell and crawled, coughing, to the door across the way - still naked and clutching the oversized shirt in my hand. Thankfully the lady across the hall was home and helped me get my shirt on and called 911. She told me to wait inside her apartment but I ran back in AGAIN to find my cat. By then some neighbors had arrived and literally yanked me back out. The lady across the hall handed me some pants way too big for me that I pulled on.

It was a blur. I totally panicked and forgot to "get low". I didn't think to call 911. I forgot I was even on the phone with my boyfriend (now my husband) who panicked 500 miles away listening to all this take place.

If the fire spread as quickly as it looked in the pictures of the house, then I bet the older kids - and the others - may have been overtaken by smoke and/or flames. In a heartbeat it can happen. If the 2- and 3-yr-old were watching TV, then the 2-yr-old probably didn't think to run out the door like the 3-yr-old.

There was a fire in our neighborhood years ago. The parents and baby got out, but they couldn't get to the 4-yr-old's bedroom. Firefighters had to use a ladder to get to his window. They found him dead from smoke inhalation just under his window... It was a terrible time, yet those parents could not breathe and ran the baby outside and tried to catch their breath like I did, but could not get back to their other child.

Until you've been in a fire and know how traumatic it is, it's hard to judge why someone couldn't get out or didn't do such-and-such.

JMHO.

(ETA: I also just remembered that when I was in college, a girl I knew died over Christmas while visiting her grandparents. Her mother, herself, and both grandparents all perished in a fire. They died of smoke inhalation. No one made it out.)
 
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