Officials: Cause of fire that killed 5 likely electrical

ROCK FALLS, Ill. (AP) - Fire officials in northern Illinois say they have indications that the cause of a fire that killed five members of a family last month was electrical.

Twin City Deputy Fire Chief Bill Milby tells The (Dixon) Telegraph (http://bit.ly/1QVsF33 ) that a surviving daughter's statements indicate the Jan. 13 blaze could have started because of a power outlet or power strip overloaded with too many computers, cellphones or other electronics. The remnants of the Rock Falls home were razed Monday.

Firefighters previously said the fire started in the home's first-floor living room. Milby says the state lists "accidental undetermined" as the fire's cause.

The victims were 61-year-old Patrick Hopkins, his wife 49-year-old Mary Hopkins and their children, 24-year-old Maggie, 16-year-old Donovan and 13-year-old Katie Jo.

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Information from: Dixon Telegraph, http://www.saukvalley.com