3 kids, dog die in Lansing house fire; 4 others hurt

Lansing — Three brothers died and four others were injured in a house fire in Lansing early Wednesday morning, according to the Lansing Fire Department.

The Ingham County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed the identities of the deceased boys as Manolo Zavala, 3, Ramiro Zavala, 5, and Juan Zavala, 8. The cause and manner of deaths were under investigation. 

The fire was reported about 1:33 a.m. on the 2000 block of New York, just south of Lake Lansing Road and east of Old U.S. 27.

When firefighters arrived at the scene of the early Wednesday blaze, there were "very heavy fire conditions" on the first and second floors, officials said. The people who'd escaped the fire told firefighters the three children were still inside. Firefighters entered the home, taking a "very aggressive approach," and pulled the children out.

The boys were transported to a hospital before they were pronounced dead. 

A 31-year-old man and a 5-year-old child were taken to the University of Michigan Burn Center in Ann Arbor. A 26-year-old woman and an 18-month-old child were transported to Sparrow Hospital, listed in stable condition.

Firefighters found the family's dog dead inside the home.

The origin of the fire is under investigation.

By Wednesday evening, friends of the boys' father were grieving together at another home in Lansing. Michael Ingram, an uncle of the boys, said family members were still trying to fathom the loss of three children.

"They were great kids," Ingram said. 

Ingram remembers visiting the boys over the summer. They were sitting together on the floor, he said.

"One started singing a song," Ingram said. "And then, the other two just joined in. It was a precious moment."

Also Wednesday evening, three flower bouquets were lying on the sidewalk outside the home.

A man identifying himself as the uncle of the boys started a Facebook fundraiser on behalf of the family. 

This is the second fire that killed brothers in three days. On Monday, Walter Briggs Connolly, 11, and his brother, Logan, 9, died after a fire broke out in their Grosse Pointe home.