Philadelphia fire kills at least 13, including 7 children

PHILADELPHIA – A ample occurrence tore done a two-unit location aboriginal Wednesday successful Philadelphia, sidesplitting 13 people, including 7 children, and sending 2 radical to hospitals, occurrence officials said. They warned the numbers could turn arsenic firefighters inspected the rowhome, wherever officials said 26 radical had been staying.

The 4 fume alarms successful the building, which was nationalist housing, did not look to person been working, occurrence officials said.

“I knew immoderate of those kids -- I utilized to spot them playing connected the corner,” said Dannie McGuire, 34, warring backmost tears arsenic she and Martin Burgert, 35, stood successful the doorway of a location astir the corner. They had lived determination for a decade, she said, “and immoderate of those kids person lived present arsenic agelong arsenic us.”

“I can’t representation however much radical couldn’t get retired -- jumping retired a window,” she said.

City and occurrence officials did not merchandise the names oregon ages of those killed successful the blaze, which started earlier 6:30 a.m.

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“It was terrible. I’ve been astir for 35 years present and this is astir apt 1 of the worst fires I person ever been to," said Craig Murphy, archetypal lawman occurrence commissioner, astatine a quality league adjacent the country aboriginal successful the morning.

“Losing truthful galore kids is conscionable devastating,” said Mayor Jim Kenney. “Keep these babies successful your prayers.”

Crews responded astir 6:40 a.m. and saw flames shooting from the second-floor beforehand windows of the home, successful an country believed to beryllium a kitchen, Murphy said. The unusual configuration of the house, which had been divided into 2 apartments, made it hard to navigate, helium said, but crews were capable to bring it nether power successful little than an hour.

There were 4 fume alarms successful the building, Murphy said, nary of which appeared to beryllium working. There were 18 radical were staying successful the upstairs flat connected the 2nd and 3rd floors, and 8 staying successful the downstairs apartment, which included the archetypal level and portion of the 2nd floor, helium said.

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The alarms had been inspected annually, and astatine slightest 2 had been replaced successful 2020, with batteries replaced successful the others astatine that time, Philadelphia Housing Authority officials said.

Television quality footage showed ladders propped up against the smoke-blackened beforehand of the house, with each its windows missing. Holes remained successful the extortion wherever firefighters had breached through.

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