2 children dead in Iowa house fire

An early morning house fire killed two young children Tuesday, but their parents escaped by jumping from a second-story window, fire officials said.

Raven Umphress, 2, and Aiden Umphress, 11 months, were found dead in their upstairs bedroom, Ottumwa Fire Chief Steve O'Connor said.

The parents — Shawn and America Umphress — were taken to Ottumwa Regional Health Center, O'Connor said. A relative told the Ottumwa Courier that the father was burned trying to rescue the children.

Flames had engulfed the house by the time firefighters arrived, fire officials said. O'Connor called the house a "death trap" for rescuers and said the children wouldn't have survived even if firefighters had been able to reach them.

(This version CORRECTS the children's ages.)