BOSTON --
Friends and family were mourning the deaths of two children, ages 10 and 17, were killed in a house fire in Randolph early Thursday, fire officials said.
NewsCenter 5's Gail Huff reported that the two-alarm blaze broke out 290 Union St. before 5 a.m. and the house was fully engulfed when fire crews arrived. Firefighters found two bodies on an upper-floor after getting the blaze under control.
The deceased were identified as Emmanuel Labranche, 17, and his half-brother, Valensky Duguaran, 10. Labranche's twin, Josh, escaped and was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital.
The father of one of the boys was overcome with grief, sobbing as he said "I don't know how to handle this. I don't know," Valery Duguaran said.
"Firefighters have located two victims on floor No. 2. One is believed to be 17 years old, the other is believed to be 10 years old. Upon arrival we had heavy, heavy fire conditions, way beyond the possibility of our crews to make entry. At this time we're still working on overhaul and salvage," Randolph Fire Chief Charles Foley said.
Residents said they don't know how the fire started.
"We don't have no idea yet how this happened because everybody was sleeping in the house. Even lights in the house were shut off," Duguaran said.
Officials said there were nine people in the house when the fire started, including a 21-year-old mother and her 11-month old child who jumped out a window with her child in her arms.
All but two escaped the blaze in the single-family, Cape-style home, but four were seriously injured, suffering burns and smoke inhalation, and were taken to the hospital.
Witnesses said the two fire victims were heard shouting for help during the fire but were apparently afraid to jump from a second-story window.
"At the time the fire happened, the fire department was on the side, the two brothers told me [the victims] were alive, but they could not jump down," family friend Donald Sanon said. "They were trapped up there."
It was unclear where or how the fire started. The cause is under investigation. State Fire Marshal Stephen Coan said at first that it did not appear the house had smoke detectors, but later said there were detectors inside the house.
"It has got to be a continual wake up call to our residents to take fire safety seriously," Coan said.
There have been 34 fire-related fatalities in Massachusetts this year, Coan said.
For two years in a row, Randolph voters have voted down a Proposition 2 1/2 override that would have provided more money for the fire department. He said it's a point that can't be overlooked.
"Without these people, it's difficult for us to accomplish the mission that we're assigned to do," Foley said.
