HEMET — A fire tore through a Southern California apartment early Friday, killing two girls and their father, who got out of the apartment but went back inside to try to rescue his children, police said. A boy rescued from the inferno was badly injured.

Seven people were in the second-floor unit in an apartment complex in the city of Hemet, 75 miles southeast of Los Angeles, when the fire broke out, said Hemet police spokesman Nate Miller.
“One of the victims — a 41-year-old male was the father — and he went back inside to rescue other family members that were not able to get out,” Miller said.

The Cause of the Fire Was Under Investigation

The girls who died were ages 4 and 12 and the 8-year-old boy who was rescued was hospitalized in grave condition, Miller said.
The names of the victims were not immediately made public.
The cause of the fire was under investigation. Miller said there was nothing to indicate any criminal aspect to the fire.