GLASGOW, Ky. (AP) - Three children in south-central Kentucky died in a house fire that started in a clothes dryer, officials said.

Kaeden Zapata, 3, and twins Ryder and Makayella Zapata, 2, died Wednesday as a result of the early morning blaze in the Haywood community of Barren County - about 5 miles from Glasgow, Coroner Mike Swift said.

The children were pronounced dead at about 4 a.m. CST at a local hospital, he said. The fire was contained to the utility room, Haywood Volunteer Fire Chief Mike Hatcher told the Glasgow Daily Times. It caused heavy smoke damage, he said.

The children's mother and a friend were at the home when the fire occurred, but escaped, Hatcher said. A working fire alarm was sounding when firefighters arrived, Hatcher said. The mother, whose name wasn't released, had already gotten her children out of the house.

Neighbor Mary Scott said the mother woke her at around 2:30 a.m. CST. "The neighbor next door came banging on the door and begging me to help her, her children weren't breathing," Scott told WBKO-TV.
Scott said she tried to help the mother give CPR to the children, but there was no response.

(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)