Human remains found after fire in home tied to a child abuse probe, Arizona cops say

A fire that broke out Tuesday in an Arizona home where three kids had earlier been removed in an abuse case led Phoenix firefighters to a gruesome discovery, NBC News reports.

Firefighters battling a fireplace blaze gone out of control found skeletal human remains inside the home, KNXV reports. The remains have not yet been identified.

Rafael Loera, 56, and Maribel Loera, 50, were arrested in the abuse case and fire, AZ Family reported.

A police press release says Rafael Loera faces charges including child abuse, arson, endangerment and concealment of human body parts, while Maribel Loera faces child abuse charges.

Investigators had removed an 11-year-old girl from the home Jan. 20 after she called police to say she was home alone, the release says. She was the only child home at the time.

On Tuesday, however, investigators learned two more kids, ages 4 and 9, were also living in the home and removed them as well.

An hour later, a fire broke out in the home but when firefighters arrived a man at the front door tried to tell them they weren’t needed, NBC News reported.

“Firefighters knew that was obviously not the case,” said fire Capt. Rob McDade, according to the network. “We ignored his pleas and made entry.”

A fire department dog found traces of gasoline on the walls and floor, NBC News reported. Firefighters mopping up hot spots found human bones in the attic.

Police are still trying to identify the remains, the release says.

“The five years that I’ve lived there, I’ve never seen kids there, which is just amazing to me,” said neighbor George Campbell, AZ Family reported. “And then I heard about what was going on, that they left the kid there by herself and all of that, and I was like wow, that’s crazy.”