STAR JOURNAL REPORT

A seven-year-old child is being credited for saving two siblings, ages four years and six months, in a house fire reported shortly after 4 p.m. Tuesday at the intersection of Brown Street and Timber Drive in Rhinelander.

Rhinelander Fire Department deputy chief Jim Plautz said the children were all outside when firefighters arrived at the scene, which is two blocks north of the fire station.

He said the seven-year-old child went upstairs to check on the six-month-old sibling and noticed the fire, then carried the six-month-old and got the four-year-old sibling to follow so all three could escape the blaze.

Plautz said the fire originated upstairs in the two-story house and caused heat, flame and smoke damage to the upstairs and attic areas of the house.

He said two individuals were transported from the scene by ambulance, two others were taken for treatment by a private vehicle and a firefighter who sustained a dog bite was looked at as a precautionary measure, noting that everyone who sought treatment has been released from the hospital.

Plautz said several animals also inside the building during the blaze were all rescued.

He said the two-story house presently is uninhabitable, while the cause of the fire remains undetermined.