Two killed in St. George house fire

ST. GEORGE — A 6-year-old boy and his great-grandmother are dead and seven people are homeless after a house fire in St. George early Friday.

Nicholas Ronald Siever and Mary Lou Cochran were killed when their home was engulfed in flames. Her age was not available.

The fire displaced seven other family members who lived in the destroyed home, but it is unclear exactly how many were home at the time of the fire.

About 3:20 a.m., fire crews received multiple 911 calls reporting a fire in the Sand Town neighborhood near 300 West and 400 North, St. George City Manager Marc Mortensen said.

Emergency responders arrived to find the house already engulfed in flames and bystanders told them two people were still in the house.

Firefighters pulled Siever and Cochran from the flames and rushed them to Dixie Regional Medical Center where they were pronounced dead.

The Greater Salt Lake Area Chapter of the American Red Cross said it is helping the seven survivers.

The cause of the fire remained under investigation but fire officials believe discarded cigarettes on a back porch may have caused the blaze. Mortensen said approximately 40 percent of the home was destroyed by fire and the rest of the house suffered smoke damage.

An account in has been established in Siever's name at The Village Bank in St. George.

— Pat Reavy and Josh Smith