3 boys dead in Va. fire; 7 hospitalized

Fire swept through a two-story home early Friday, killing three boys and leaving seven relatives hospitalized, most of them in critical condition, officials said.

The house collapsed after the fire broke out shortly after 2 a.m., and firefighters had to cut out the front porch to reach the bodies of the three boys, ages 6, 11 and 15, Fire Marshal Charles Moore said.

He said all 10 victims were related.

Three children and two adults were hospitalized in critical condition Friday morning at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center in Richmond, and two other adults were hospitalized with less serious injuries, Moore said.

Fire officials did not immediately know the cause of the fire, which left only the home's rear wall standing.

Several of the injured told officials that they didn't think the house had a smoke detector, Moore said.

"Nobody heard a smoke detector going off, and nobody remembered one being in there," he said.