CONNEAUT, Ohio — A house fire killed a pastor, his wife and their 7-year-old foster son Monday.

        Firefighters found the bodies of the Rev. Joseph and Jean Markijohn, both 39, and their son, Brian Curtiss, in their bedrooms, Fire Chief Bim Orrenmaa said.

        The fire started shortly after 5 a.m. in the family's 2 1/2-story, wood-frame house in this city about 65 miles northeast of Cleveland. A next-door neighbor noticed the fire and tried to alert the Markijohns, only to be turned away by heat and smoke.

        Authorities did not know where or how the fire started, Chief Orrenmaa said. Autopsies will be conducted to determine the cause and manner of death.

        The Rev. Mr. Markijohn had served as pastor of the Denmark Township church since the congregation's status changed from mission to church in 1999.

        His parents, Steve and Charlotte Markijohn, said their son had a spiritual calling as long as they could remember.

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