6 killed, 3 injured in Texas mobile home fire

GRANBURY, Texas - A fire raced through a lakefront home in North Texas early Sunday, killing six people and injuring three others who had gathered for a birthday party, authorities said.

The fire broke out at about 5:30 a.m. Sunday in a double-wide mobile home in Lake Granbury, about 65 miles southwest of Dallas, Hood County Fire Marshal Brian Fine told The Associated Press. The dead ranged in age from 18 to 30 years old and included three men and three women who had lingered after the party, which had largely broken up for the night, he said.

No cause has been determined for the fire, Fine said.

The Port Ridglea East development, where the fire took place, is made up mostly of retirees and weekenders. Some residents said they had heard the party going overnight.

One neighbor, auto mechanic Michael Brennan, said the party woke him up.

"About 2:15 (a.m.), the noise woke me up. There was an argument going on. Then, there were cars pulling out, and I was sort of waiting for the sheriff to show up when the fire happened," he said.

The house was occupied full time, Brennan said.

Shirley Culberhouse, who lives about seven houses down the street from the home that burned, said it "was a group of boys who had moved in, and they were having a party."

Neighbor Paul Woods said the house was completely engulfed in flames before neighbors realized what was happening.

"It's just a shock to see a house totally engulfed," Woods told Dallas/Fort Worth television station WFAA-TV. "Especially when the people are still inside. There's nothing you can do ... literally nothing you can do. The flames are pouring out and no way you can get anywhere close to the house."

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