4 dead as sheriff's officials investigate house fire in Bloomington

BLOOMINGTON, Calif. (KABC) -- Four people - including two children - are dead as sheriff's officials investigate a house fire in Bloomington on Wednesday.

The blaze, which occurred at a residence in the 17900 block of Santa Ana Avenue, was first reported at 7:32 a.m.

When firefighters arrived on scene, they saw heavy smoke coming from the corner bedroom.

Firefighters entered the home and found a woman inside. They pulled her out and attempted to resuscitate her on the front lawn. She was transported to an area hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

When firefighters went deeper into the house, they also found a man and a child between 5 and 10 years old. Both the man and the child, described by firefighters as a little girl, were pronounced dead at the scene.

Hours later, sheriff's officials said a fourth person was found dead. This victim was described as a female child.

The blaze was knocked down at 8:01 a.m. Most of the fire was contained to the interior of the house.

Exactly how the four individuals died was not known. Crime scene investigators, sheriff's homicide/arson units were on scene. The case is being described as a death investigation and investigators said a criminal investigation was also underway.

San Bernardino County sheriff's officials said it's too early in the investigation to know the cause of death for the victims, but an eyewitness said one victim had injuries that didn't look like they were caused by fire.

"I could see the lady that came out, her face was like totally bloody," said Maria Garcia, who was driving by as the house was ablaze.

Family members of the victims sobbed and consoled each other as they arrived at the scene of the blaze.

"What can I say? They were just nice people and all that," said the brother of one victim. "I can't say nothing more."

A small memorial was set up for the family in front of the home by Wednesday evening. Family and friends said the man and woman were Eric and Karina Gonzalez.

Witness and friend Jessica Contreras said she was coming to pick up Karina Gonzalez for work when she saw smoke coming from the house.

She and other witnesses called 911.

The coroner had not officially identified the victims.