MICHIGAN CITY, Indiana (AP) -- Fire swept through a two-story house where a large number of people had been living, killing at least four early Sunday, the state fire marshal said.
Firefighters were looking for more bodies, State Fire Marshal Roger Johnson said. It was unclear how many people lived in the home, which had been divided into apartments, or how many were able to escape.
"We would not be surprised to find additional victims but at this point we only have four," he said.
Johnson said the house had an unusually large number of occupants but would not speculate on a number.
Holly Hanrath, who lives across the street, said she and her husband, Frank, had been inside the house before and saw it had been subdivided into rooms with plywood sheeting.
There were mattresses on the kitchen floor, she said. The wiring and plumbing were old and they could smell gas near the stove.
Frank Hanrath said he saw flames rolling out of the home's windows Sunday morning.
"I could feel the heat coming in through my window. It was really intense," he said.
Michigan City Fire Chief Ralph Martin said the fire appeared to have started in the back of the house in northwestern Indiana, about 35 miles east of Chicago, but the cause was not yet known.
Martin said when fire crews arrived the rear of the home already was fully engulfed in flames and within minutes the fire had spread through the entire house. He said the fire appeared to have traveled from back of the home through the walls or ceiling to the front.
Crews needed three hours to extinguish the blaze.
"It was a flash hot fire. Any time you get fire within the walls and ceilings and roof area it takes time to put it out," Martin said.
Officials did not know the victims' identities or ages. There was no immediate response to calls seeking comment from the LaPorte County coroner, and police officials referred calls to the fire department.
Neighbor Tawny Anderson said she was awakened by the sounds of fire engines and looked out to see flames rising above the roof of the house separating hers from the burning home.
She rushed out of her home with her three children before firefighters hosed down her house and the one next to it to prevent the fire from spreading.
Anderson said she moved into the neighborhood only six weeks ago and did not know the people who lived in the burned house.
"They were quiet. They kept to themselves," she said.