Fire kills three family members near Wautoma

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Foul play has been ruled out as the cause of a fire near Wautoma that killed three family members.

Waushara County Sheriff David Peterson now says Friday’s blaze might have ignited in front of a wood-burner.

Larry Baneck, 52; his wife, Peggy, 47; and their son Charlie, 17, were killed.

Katie Baneck, 16, is at Children’s Hospital near Milwaukee. She’s getting better, but family members say she’ll be hospitalized for awhile.

A fifth relative, Anthony Baneck, 22, was treated at a local hospital for burns and was later released.

Peterson said the three fatal victims had smoke in their airways and lethal amounts of carbon monoxide in their blood.

Peggy Baneck was a dispatcher for the Waushara County Sheriff’s Department. Her husband was a farmer and a trucker. Charlie Baneck was a student at Wautoma High School.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

Accounts to help the family have been set up at the Farmers Exchange Bank and Hometown Bank in Wautoma.

Tags: wisconsin news, wautoma, fatal, fire