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The cause of a fatal house fire that took place early Sunday in Fredonia remains under investigation today by the Chautauqua County Sheriff's Department Fire Investigation Team.

Two of the five members of the McKinnon family died in the blaze at their home at 160 Water St. in the village - Dawson McKinnon, 10, and Clayton McKinnon, 3. The pair were reportedly trapped in an upstairs room.

Prior to arrival of the fire department, three family members escaped from their burning home.

The children's mother, Jennifer McKinnon, was transported to Erie County Medical Center (ECMC) in Buffalo and is listed in serious condition after she reportedly jumped from a second-story window with her surviving child, Brody.

According to a nurse at Brooks Memorial Hospital, the father, Michael, was treated and discharged from Brooks. He traveled to ECMC with his wife as a passenger, not a patient.

Fredonia Fire Chief Tim Wahl said the fire started on the front porch shortly before 4 a.m. The fire advanced rapidly to the back of the house, trapping the family inside.

Firefighters arrived at the scene after the alarm sounded at 4:05 a.m. and found the house fully involved. They drenched the structure in an attempt to enter the home and save the trapped youngsters, but rescue efforts had to be suspended due to heavy fire conditions.

''Because of heat-resistant windows, it's likely the fire reached about 1,000 degrees before it spread through the house,'' Wahl said.

Between 4:05 a.m. and 6:15 a.m. a total of 48 firefighters, including 38 from Fredonia and the others from Dunkirk and Brocton, worked to control the intense blaze. The Fredonia Fire Department finally returned to its station at 8:45 a.m.

Nick Ruckman lives around the corner from the McKinnon house. ''He was my best friend,'' he said of Dawson McKinnon. ''We were really close.''

''My daughter woke me up to go fight it,'' said Joel Green, a Fredonia firefighter who lives across the street at 163 Water St.

Andrew Halliday, who lives at 85 Water St., talked to a volunteer firefighter who was directing traffic early Sunday morning. ''He told me they were having a hard time putting it out. My house still smells like smoke,'' he said Sunday afternoon.

Grief counseling

Contacted Sunday, Fredonia Central School Superintendent Paul Difonzo said, ''I know we're going to meet with our staff in the morning prior to the students getting here at the elementary and middle school levels, and basically make sure they are aware of the situation. We already contacted all of our counselors and school psychologists so they're aware and ready to provide grief counseling for anyone who needs it.

''Obviously our concern right now is for the family, and we're going to do all we can to support the family,'' Difonzo added.

''The school is community school, and we're available for anyone who needs us at this point. We don't have all the details yet - we're still working on that - but the bottom line is we are prepared and we're ready to help students and staff in the morning to deal with this tragic situation,'' he said.

''Fortunately, no, I've never had to deal with the loss of a student, part of our family, and obviously part of the Fredonia family. The whole family has been affected and I know that they lost a younger son also, not a student yet in our school system but who obviously would have been. It's been a very difficult situation and an absolute tragedy for the family and we're going to be there for them,'' Difonzo promised.

''If anyone in the community needs help or assistance we have counselors available during the day and staff will be there to help. It's a community school and this is one of our families and we're going to do everything we can to support the family or anyone who may need some assistance,'' he said.