NORFOLK, Va. (AP) -- A fire in a second-floor apartment Wednesday killed two young brothers, fire officials said.
The mother and her oldest son were able to escape. The boys killed in the fire were 5 and 1.
Ginger Pentecost, the owner of Ashlawn Drive house, was asleep when she heard her upstairs tenant cry out for help.
``She said the house was on fire,'' Pentecost said. ``She couldn't get the babies.''
Pentecost said the woman, a widow, lived with her three boys.
Pentecost said thick smoke prevented her from even seeing where the fire was and kept her and other would-be rescuers at bay.
After an explosion inside, a police officer who had arrived warned people away from the door. By that time, flames were shooting from the side of the house.
The victims were not immediately identified.
