8 children among at least 13 dead after duplex fire in Philadelphia

CRITICAL INCIDENT NOTIFICATION

MAJOR FIRE

The Philadelphia Fire Department says eight children are among at least 13 dead after a house fire erupted in the Fairmount section of the city on Wednesday morning. A fire official said the number of fatalities is "dynamic," indicating the number of those killed could change as the recovery continues. "Without a doubt one of the most tragic days in our city's history," Mayor Jim Kenney said at a news conference.

Officials say 18 people lived in a 2nd-floor apartment of the three-story duplex. Another eight people lived on the first floor. Deputy Fire Commissioner Craig Murphy noted that 26 was a large number of people to be occupying a duplex, but a spokesperson for Philadelphia's Department of Licenses and Inspections said the city does not limit the number of family members who can stay in a single unit. The mayor said people should withhold judgment. "You don't know the circumstances of each and every family, and maybe there were relatives and family that needed to be sheltered," Kenney said. "Obviously the tragedy happened, and we all mourn for it. But we can't make judgment on the number of people living in the house because sometimes people just need to be indoors." The fire broke out around 6:40 a.m. in the 800 block of N. 23rd Street.

Firefighters arrived to find heavy flames shooting from the second story of the three-story row house. The odd configuration of the building, originally a single-family home that had been split into two apartments, made it difficult to navigate, Murphy said. The fire department said it took about 50 minutes to bring the fire under control. The view from the Action Cam and Chopper 6 showed multiple fire crews on the scene. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. The ATF is responding to the scene to assist the Philly fire and police departments.

Action News has learned there were seven smoke detectors and three carbon monoxide detectors in one of the apartments, and six smoke detectors with three carbon monoxide detectors in the other. The duplex is a Philadelphia Housing Authority property. In a statement, PHA President and CEO Kelvin A. Jeremiah confirmed the property was last inspected in the spring, and all smoke detectors were "operating properly at that time." Fire officials say when they arrived on scene the smoke detectors were not operating. "The Fire Department, ATF and others are handling the investigation. Any information on the cause will come through them. Our primary goal right now is to support our residents in any way we can."

Source Agency (ABC6 Action News)

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Incident Number

2-220105-6401

Alert Type

Critical Incident Notification

Incident Type

Major Fire

Incident Occurred

January 5, 2022

Alert Posted

January 5, 2022

Location

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

END OF ALERT