Investigators say a west Columbus fire that killed three people was intentionally set. The case has been turned over to Columbus police homicide detectives. Columbus Fire Battalion Chief Dave Whiting says Robin Woogerd,41, Natalie Adair, 12 and 21-month-old Thomas Woogerd died in the fire that started just after 3:00 am in one side of a duplex. Columbus Fire Battalion Chief Dave Whiting says a woman in her 40s, a teenage girl and a two-year-old boy died in the fire that started just after 3:00 am in one side of a duplex.
Whiting wouldn't give their identities but says they probably died of smoke inhalation. Whiting says the home had working smoke detectors.
It took firefighters a half-hour to contain the blaze. Whiting says the fire started in the back of the home and it took firefighters a half-hour to contain the blaze.
A neighbor Nathan Bowman tried to rescue victims but says the flames were too hot to enter the home. Investigators are still trying to determine the cause of the fire.