Seven Hours Later
Marion, one of the children who escaped, went to the neighbor’s house to call the fire department, but the operator didn’t pick up. And when another neighbor tried to call, once again, there was no response. That same neighbor decided to drive into town and found the fire chief in person, F.J. Morris.
The Sodder house. Source: Pinterest
Despite the fire department only being 2.5 miles from the house, the firefighters strangely didn’t arrive there until 8:00 am – 7 hours after the fire began. Unsurprisingly, the house was literally ash once they finally got there. The five children were tragically ruled dead due to the fire. The fire chief concluded that the fire was so hot that it cremated the kids’ bodies… including their bones.