4 children, 5 people total killed in California house fire, officials say

PORTERVILLE, Calif. -- Five people, including four children, are dead following a house fire in Porterville, California.

Toys and clothes now sit amongst piles of ash, after a deadly travel trailer fire in Porterville Sunday night claimed the lives of several children.

Porterville Fire Chief Bryan Cogburn says just after 11:00 p.m., crews responded to reports of a structure fire near Poplar and Indiana.

Cogburn confirms that the fire started inside the trailer, which now sits blanketed with burn scars.

"Within minutes of arriving on scene, our crews were inside of the structure performing search and fire-tac, and within minutes, they were able to remove all five victims," the chief said.

The victims included four children and one adult.

Chief Cogburn tells ABC Fresno affiliate KFSN that by the time crews arrived, it was too late.

"Despite the life-saving efforts that fire crews and paramedics performed on scene, they were all pronounced deceased," Cogburn said.

The four children, two boys and two girls, ranged in age from 18 months to five years old. Neighbors tell us the adult victim was their father.

"He would light up a room and keep it lit with his personality and the love that he had," said Armando, a neighbor who spoke with KFSN.

Armando asked that we not show his face but spoke highly of the man who tragically lost his life, telling us he gave him a place to live when he had nowhere to go, even calling him his best friend.

"If everybody could see how he was with his kids, you guys would nominate him for father of the decade," Armando said.

Armando shared that he treated the children as his own grandchildren.

In front of the trailer, candles were left behind to honor the lost young lives.

The children's charred belongings now serve as a reminder of a place Armando says was filled with love.

"'Uncle 'Mondo, I love you,' it just gets to you that they're no longer here," he said, remembering the children he had come to love.

Fire investigators expect to learn the cause of the fire in the coming days.