BRENHAM, Texas - Authorities say a woman and her two children were found dead in a house fire in east-central Texas.

Chief Deputy Mike Herzog of the Washington County Sheriff's Office says a cinder-block home was engulfed in flames when they arrived with the fire department around 4:45 a.m. Thursday.

Herzog says a 50-year-old man escaped with third-degree burns over half his body. He was in critical condition at Brooks Army Medical Center in San Antonio.

Bryan television station KBTX reports that family members identified the woman as 42-year-old woman Marta Sanchez and the man as 50-year-old Inez Dorantes, her live-in boyfriend and the father of the two kids, ages 4 and 5.

Herzog says their house had at least seven space heaters. The state Fire Marshal's Office is investigating the fire's cause.

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Information from: KBTX-TV, http://www.kbtx.com

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