Nation IN BRIEF : NATIONWIDE : 4 House Fires Kill 16 Children, 5 Adults

Early morning fires trapped four families inside their homes in Minnesota, Ohio, suburban Chicago and Washington state, killing 16 children and five adults. In Burbank, Ill., a smoke alarm was still blaring at a burning home where firefighters pulled out a 62-year-old man and six children, ages 3 to 16, trapped on the top floor. They suffered burns and smoke inhalation and died at a hospital. Cause of the fire was not immediately known. Two women survived. In Moorhead, Minn., a woman and her six children, ages 2 to 10, died in a fire that officials said was caused by a cigarette left in a couch. Near Hoquiam, Wash., a fire engulfed a home, killing two young boys, their mother and grandmother. The blaze apparently started in a wood-burning stove. In Columbus, Ohio, three family members died in a fire. Four children escaped.