Fire that took six lives was started in a grill

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SANTA BÁRBARA.- Six people died early this morning in a fire that burned down a wooden structure on the side of the main plaza of the municipality of Santa Bárbara in the Eighth Region.

The victims were agricultural and forestry workers who where sleeping in the structure, as well as the owner of the property, identified as Juana Maria Pichinao. The existence of a possible seventh victim is being investigated.

Preliminary information from the police indicates that the probable cause of the fire was the overheating of a fire grill inside of the home.

When questioned about the incident, the mayor of Santa Bárbara, Daniel Iraira, indicated that "according to the information we have gathered, the blaze started when a coal fire in an open grill got out of control and six people died".

The mayor added that the building was a "one-room structure that was rented out" and that "the area in which this fire occurred is only 50 meters from the fire station of the city".