Officials: 4 children, 1 adult killed in Tennessee house fire

LUTTRELL, Tenn. (WVLT/Gray News) - Officials with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said they are investigating a deadly house fire in Union County.

The fire was in the 300 block of Clinch Valley Road in Luttrell on Sunday afternoon, according to TBI spokesperson Keli McAlister.

Another TBI spokesperson, Leslie Earhart, confirmed to WVLT that four juveniles and one adult were killed in the fire.

Dennis Longhurst, the grandfather of the children who died in the fire, told WVLT he was trying to support his daughter, who was running errands when the fire broke out in the house.

“I am very concerned about my daughter and that she’s lost her, quite a bit of her family, and that I am really here trying to help her out and see what I can do to help her,” Longhurst said.

Longhurst was able to confirm the identities of the four juveniles killed in the fire: Briseis Aljumaily, 15, Audrie Cooper-Fortner, 9, Gabriella Aljumaily, 5, and Evie Cooper-Fortner, 5.

Union County Director of Schools Gregory Clay issued a statement regarding the deaths.

“Our hearts are heavy, but it is in times such as these that our small, Union County community comes together to support one another,” Clay said.

Additional counselors and a crisis team will be posted at some Union County Schools, Clay said.

The TBI is working with the Union County Sheriff’s Office to investigate the fire.

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