By NBC News, msnbc.com staff and news services
A mother and her four children were found dead Thursday after a fire swept through their duplex in Jacksonville, Ark., officials said.
Jacksonville Fire Battalion Chief Bob Thornton told the Associated Press that firefighters were called to the duplex around 6 a.m. by a neighbor who reported smelling smoke.
Thornton told the AP that no one answered the door and firefighters using thermal imaging did not detect any signs of a blaze from outside the apartment.
He said they left without going inside A maintenance worker discovered the bodies an hour later, the AP reported.
Thornton said that there was no fire burning when officials returned but there were signs one had burned overnight. Firefighters don’t suspect arson.
The ages of the victims weren’t immediately known.
NBC News and The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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