Two killed, one escapes house fire in Pittsburg

PITTSBURG, Kan. -- Authorities on Sunday were investigating the cause of a weekend house fire that killed two people.

The fire was reported about 2:35 a.m. Saturday, police said. Firefighters said flames were visible from a window and roof when they arrived. The fire department was on the scene until 11:32 a.m.

The names of the victims were being withheld Sunday while relatives were notified, police Lt. Henry Krantz said. He said the two victims may have been from the Kansas City area, but that their bodies were taken to Topeka for autopsies and had not been positively identified. Ryan Jamison, a Pittsburg State University student, escaped from the fire in the two-story home.

The Kansas state fire marshal, Pittsburg police, Kansas Bureau of Investigation and the Crawford County Sheriff's Office were investigating the cause of the fire.

When asked for preliminary details of how the fire started and how one of the occupants of the home escaped, Larry D'Amico, a fire battalion chief, said there was limited information to release.

"That's all we're allowed to release because it's under investigation," D'Amico said.