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BELLEVUE, Pa. (AP) — Investigators are trying to find the cause of a duplex fire that killed five members of a family as friends and neighbors mourn the loss of the victims, who included three children.
The Friday night blaze in Bellevue, just northwest of Pittsburgh, killed 41-year-old Stephen Lasch, 38-year-old Angela Lasch, and their three children: 11-year-old son Noah, 6-year-old daughter Kayley and 4-year-old daughter Hannah.
Hundreds gathered at a vigil Saturday evening at a stadium behind Bellevue Elementary School, where the older daughter was a first-grader.
The father’s parents said the family had been planning to go out Saturday night to celebrate his new job and the youngest girl’s birthday.
Officials said the fire appeared to have started on the first floor and did not appear to be suspicious in origin.