WARREN, Ohio — Fire swept through a family’s home that appeared to have no working smoke detectors early today, killing a couple, their two children and two other children who were sleeping over after a cookout, officials and a neighbor said.

Firefighters arrived to flames that were shooting up to 25 feet into the air and later searched the home to find the bodies of the two adults on the first floor and all of the children dead upstairs, Mayor Michael J. O’Brien said. He called the fire the worst in the history of this city, about 50 miles southeast of Cleveland.

The family had a backyard cookout Wednesday night with about eight to 10 people, said Deborah Ballard, who lives next door.

The mayor described the father as self-employed and the mother as a homemaker, and he said the other two children were relatives enjoying a summer sleepover. The names and ages of the victims were not immediately available.

Firefighters found inoperable smoke alarms in the home, he said.