Three killed in house fire on Belmont Road

Anniston Police Photo

Anniston,Al. 
Three people are dead from a Belmont Road house fire, and investigators believe their deaths were caused intentionally, Calhoun County Coroner Pat Brown said.

The fire, which began before 2 p.m., burned the second floor of a two-story house. Firefighters had doused the blaze by 4 p.m., but police, firefighters and Brown remained on the scene, investigating.

At 6:10 p.m., Brown corfirmed that three adults had been killed in the blaze. He said he had made preliminary identification of the victims but did not release their names, saying he was still contacting family members.

"There's been foul play involved," Brown said. He said Anniston Police were investigating the deaths as homicides.

Lt. Fred Forsythe of the Anniston Police Department confirmed that police believe foul play was involved in the deaths. He said the bodies were being sent to Huntsville for autopsy. He said the names of the victims, and the reasons why fould play was believed to be a factor, could not be released until after the autopsy.

Forsythe said the state fire marshal would investigate the blaze.

Neighbors said the house was a rental. The owners of the property did not immediately return telephone calls Monday afternoon.

This story will be updated on http://alastatenews.blogspot.com as more information becomes available.