Four In Family Die In Trailer Home Fire

Four members of a family died early Thursday when a fire ravaged their trailer home near Ephrata.

The victims were identified as Gonzalo Paz, 30, and Irma Paz, 33, and their children, 10-year-old Amelia and 8-year-old Gonzalo Junior. Grant County Coroner Penny Sibley said they apparently died of smoke inhalation.

All four were apparently sleeping in a back bedroom at the time of the blaze, and there was no indication they attempted to escape, county Fire Marshal Sam Lorenz said.

Firefighters were called about 3:36 a.m. to the blaze, and found the center of the single-wide, 70-foot unit completely engulfed in flames, Lorenz said.

The family was in the process of moving and had sold or removed most of the furniture in the home, he said.

The fire apparently started in a tip-out section of the home, but the exact cause wasn’t known, Lorenz said.

There were two smoke detectors in the trailer, but it was unclear whether they worked, investigators said.