Ohio woman in critical condition after fire kills five family members

By Kim Palmer CLEVELAND (Reuters) - An Ohio woman who lost five members of her family in a house trailer fire, including her baby great-grandson, remained in critical condition on Wednesday as officials investigated the cause of the blaze. The five victims were staying with Georganna Jennings, 62, and her husband Don W. Asbell, 63, overnight in their rural trailer in order to avoid traveling in snowy weather, police said. An explosion and fire was reported at about 4 a.m. on Tuesday by neighbors in Sugar Grove, a town of fewer than 500 people about 40 miles southeast of Columbus. “We have 5 inches of snow fall in an hour Tuesday night,” said Lieutenant Alex Lape from the Fairfield County sheriff’s department. “The weather slowed down the response time. The roads were terrible.” Jennings was being treated for smoke inhalation and burns at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus, a hospital spokeswoman said. Asbell was treated and released from another area hospital. When deputies arrived on the scene the home was fully engulfed in the blaze, and later collapsed, Lape said. Authorities recovered the bodies of Thomas B. Taylor, 54; Jennings’ daughter, Pamela Jean Taylor, 43; Jennings' granddaughter Patricia MJ Taylor, 22; Dylan A. Vanord, 22; and their 10-month-old son Cody Vanord. The cause of the fire is under investigation by police and the Ohio State Fire Marshall, Lape said. (Editing by Mary Wisniewski and Eric Walsh)