Five Children Dead in PA House Fire

Aug. 11, 2019
Erie firefighters were able to remove the five children from the burning home Sunday morning, but they all died from their injuries.

Five children have died in a fire that broke out in a west Erie residence early Sunday morning.

Authorities confirmed the deaths late Sunday morning in a fire that was first reported at 1248 W. 11th St., a single-family residence, on Sunday at 1:12 a.m.

Information on the victims, including their ages, was not immediately available Sunday afternoon. The Erie County Coroner's Office confirmed the deaths, but the office was awaiting further information in the fire investigation.

All of the children were rescued from the residence by Erie firefighters who arrived on scene at 1:16 a.m. Sunday. Two other children, who a neighbor said are 17 and 12 years old, reportedly escaped the fire by climbing onto the front first-floor roof of the residence and jumping to the ground. An adult female who lives at the residence also escaped the fire and was flown to UPMC Mercy hospital for treatment, Erie Bureau of Fire Chief Fire Inspector John Widomski said. Information on her injuries was not available Sunday afternoon.

A neighbor was additionally injured in the fire, Erie Fire Chief Guy Santone said.

The fire bureau's two fire inspectors and three Erie Bureau of Police detectives who are trained in fire investigators are working to determine the cause of Sunday morning's fire, which caused heavy damage to the front of the three-story house. Police Chief Dan Spizarny said detectives are assisting the fire inspectors because the department investigates all death cases.

Santone said all of the fire bureau's on-duty companies were sent to the fire and arrived to find flames coming out of every window on the front of the first floor.

"The deputy (fire chief on the scene) told me he hasn't seen fire blow out of a building like that in a long time," Widomski said.

Santone said the firefighters "did a hell of a job" knocking down the fire and rescuing the children who were still inside the house within minutes of arriving on the scene.

The fire appears to have started in the living room area on the first floor of the house, according to Widomski. Investigators remained at the scene Sunday afternoon, with the house blocked off with yellow caution tape and an Erie police officer stationed outside.

The next step in the investigation will involve bringing in additional resources to help in determining the fire's cause, Widomski said.

Danika Scott, who lives next door to 1248 W. 11th St., said she reported the fire after she spotted flames through her side window as she sat reading an article. She said she heard the 17-year-old screaming and raced outside to see the 12-year-old jump down from the roof.

"One of the things the kids said was, 'Where is my mom going to live?'" Scott said.

She said the fire spread quickly after it broke out, noting that her boyfriend had left her residence five minutes earlier "and there was nothing."

Other neighbors on the block raced to the house to assist the children after the fire was spotted, Scott said.

"That fire was just nuts .... nuts," she said.

The Erie Bureau of Fire called in two engine companies and a tower company on overtime and called on some neighboring volunteer fire departments to assist in answering other calls while the on-duty companies were at the scene, Santone said. The last unit cleared the fire scene on Sunday at 5:08 a.m., according to Erie County 911.

Santone said he called in a person from Safe Harbor Behavioral Health of UPMC Hamot to speak to any firefighter who responded to Sunday morning's fire who wanted to talk. He said the bureau's peer review group will talk to the firefighters on Monday, and he may bring a Safe Harbor official back to speak with firefighters later this week.

Anyone who might have information that could assist in the investigation into the fire at 1248 W. 11th St. is asked to call Erie police Detective Sgt. Michael Hertel at 870-1260 or Detective David Walker at 870-1122.

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©2019 the Erie Times-News (Erie, Pa.)

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