A Wausau duplex fire Tuesday night has killed three children.
Authorities say two adults and four other children escaped as the fire swept through the duplex just before 11 pm. Deputy fire Chief Phil Rentmeester says the two adults tried going back for the three other children, but the fire pushed them back.
Firefighters found 8-year-old Mackenzie Block and 2-year-old Faith Fondie dead under a bed. Another child, 9-year-old Mitchell Block, died from his injuries Wednesday afternoon at St. Joseph's Hospital in Marshfield.
Wausau police Chief Jeff Hardel says the cause and origin of the fire is unknown. He says Nathan Fondie had been outside smoking a cigarette before the fire started. Fondie noticed flames in a bedroom when going back inside.
Hardel says the fire was intense and will hamper the investigation. He says intense heat damage will make it difficult to determine the origin.
One woman who was living upstairs at the time escaped.