SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Six people have died in an overnight house fire today on Syracuse's North Side, according to the Syracuse Fire Department.

Neighbors this morning reported hearing an explosion and rushing out to find the home nearly engulfed in flames.

Four Syracuse City School District students were among those killed in the fire, school officials confirmed today.

The fire at 212 Martin St. was reported at 3:51 a.m., Onondaga County 911 dispatch logs show. The residence is between Cadillac Street and LeMoyne Avenue.

The blaze left the front of the home charred and burned away most of the home's front lawn. Melted pieces of siding hang from the front of the home, exposing the home's wood frame.

On the front of the home, barely any of the light-blue siding remains. The glass that filled the windows shattered, scattering into pieces on the lawn and sidewalk.

At 10 a.m., two women approached the police tape -- clutching a bouquet of flowers and six heart-shaped, red and pink balloons. After gazing at the blackened home, the women tied the balloons to the police tape and left.

Firefighters started to remove the victims' bodies from the home around 10:30 a.m.

Four of the blanket-covered victims were gently lowered on stretchers. from one of the home's second-story windows. By 1:30 p.m., all six victims were removed from the residence.

Members of the Onondaga County Medical Examiner's Office arrived just before 7:15 a.m. They have stacked body bags in front of the house as they wait to enter the home.

The home had no history of code violations, according to a city official.

Ken Towsley, director of code enforcement for the City of Syracuse, confirmed the house's address as 212 Martin St. He said the property had a clean bill of health prior to last night's fire.

According to county tax records, the property is owned by Kevin and Colleen Anderton. Towsley confirmed the Andertons own the house but did not know if the property was owner occupied or a rental.

A neighbor said that the people who lived at the house had two young daughters, but did not know the occupants' names.

Fire investigators are working to find the cause of the fire and did not have any additional information early Friday morning.

The cause remains under investigation.

Rural/Metro Ambulance and eight American Red Cross volunteers also responded to the fatal fire.

Some of the volunteers who met with family members at the scene and at the hospital are mental health caseworkers, said Daniel Hartman, communications manager for the local American Red Cross. He said the volunteers also brought the firefighters drinks.