NEHAWKA, Neb. (AP) — Investigators say embers or hot ashes from a living room fireplace touched off a fire that killed six members of a southeast Nebraska family.

Thirty-six-year-old Michael and Michelle Speer and their girls were killed early Thursday morning at their home near the village of Nehawka (neh-HAH’-kuh) — about 30 miles south of Omaha.

The Nebraska State Fire Marshal’s office said in a news release Monday that flames erupted in combustible materials near the fireplace and soon spread to room furnishings and up walls.

The fire marshal’s office says firefighters found all six bodies in beds. A preliminary autopsy report says they died from smoke inhalation.

The four girls have been identified as 11-year-old Elli Perez, 7-year-old Adilynn Speer, 5-year-old Emma Speer and 2-year-old Anniston Speer.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Michelle Collins Speer is a 1998 graduate of North Platte High School.  The father of the oldest child, Elli, 11, is James Perez, a 1997 NPHS graduate.  A fund has been established at https://www.gofundme.com/james-perez-2v9vn5g.