Coroner identifies NE Indiana boy, 6, who died in house fire

MONROEVILLE, Ind. (AP) - Northeastern Indiana authorities have identified a 6-year-old boy who died in a weekend house fire after his father was driven back by intense flames while trying to rescue him.

The Allen County coroner's office on Tuesday identified the boy as Rory McBride and said he died from thermal burns and smoke inhalation in Sunday's fire. His death was ruled an accident.

The boy died Sunday morning when a fire swept his family's home in the town of Monroeville, about 10 miles (16.1 kilometers) southeast of Fort Wayne.

Erin McBride, her husband, Jason, and their other four children, ages 14, 13, 10 and 1, escaped the fire. Jason tried to save Rory, but the blaze was too intense for him to go back inside, said Dennis Lyons, Erin's father.

Lyons said the fire destroyed the family's home, their two cars and their possessions. He has started a GoFundMe page to aid the family's recovery.

'œTo get a house together for a family of six is not going to be easy when you start from scratch,'ť Lyons told The Journal Gazette.

The fire remains under investigation by the Allen County Sheriff's Department and coroner's office.