Three teenagers killed in northwest Iowa house fire

Three teenagers are dead and a fourth is in critical condition after a fire broke out early Labor Day morning at a home in northwest Iowa.

According to a news release from the Sioux County Sheriff’s Office, firefighters from the Granville Fire Department were called to a home on 430th Street northwest of Granville — about 50 miles northeast of Sioux City — around 5 a.m. The home was filled with heavy smoke when firefighters arrived, and four people were found inside in critical condition.

The sheriff’s office said all four were taken by ambulance to a hospital in Orange City. Kolten Hofmeyer, 17, of Alton, died at the hospital from injuries sustained in the fire.

The other three were flown to specialty units at other hospitals for further treatment, but Bryleigh Koob, 16, and Ashton Koob, 17, both of Granville, died from their injuries. The third teenager, a 16-year-old male from Alton who was not identified by the sheriff’s office, remains in critical condition at a hospital burn unit in Minnesota.

In the news release, the sheriff’s office noted that school resource officers, clergy and other resources will be available this week at MOC-Floyd Valley High School in Orange City “for anyone connected to or affected by this tragic event.”

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.