The Allegheny County fire marshal says a fire that killed three children near Pittsburgh began as a grease fire on a stove that another resident of the house tried to extinguish.

Fire Marshal Bob Full isn't saying who tried to put out the fire in Clairton on Oct. 23, but says it spread when that person put water on the fire. Mr. Full says grease fires should be smothered with a pan lid or put out using a fire extinguisher.

Nine-year-old Rachel Finn, 6-year-old Deausha Faulk, and 2-year-old Michael Zigler died in the fire at the Century Town Homes complex in Clairton, about 10 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.

Four other family members, including the girls' mother and sister, escaped the fire.

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