Ten people were killed in a house fire in northeast Pennsylvania on Friday.
A criminal investigation is currently underway, according to the Times-Tribune. Three of the victims were children, ages 5, 6, and 7, while seven were adults, ranging in age from 19 to 79, according to USA Today.
One of the first firefighters on the scene in the small town of Nescopeck was a member of the family caught in the fire.
FIREFIGHTERS PARTIALLY SURROUND DEADLY CALIFORNIA FIRE
“The address that they gave us was the neighbor’s address. It was right next door to them. … When we turned the corner up here on Dewey [Street], I knew right away what house it was just by looking down the street. I was on the first engine, and when we pulled up, the whole place was fully involved. We tried to get [to] them. There wasn’t no way we could get [to] them,” Nescopeck Volunteer Fire Co. firefighter Harold Baker told the Times-Tribune.
The victims included Baker’s son, daughter, father-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, three grandchildren, and two of their cousins, he said.
The fire broke out at around 2:30 a.m. after a family gathering. Several of the children were sleeping over.
Several neighbors reported what sounded like an explosion early in the morning, then saw an inferno quickly engulf the front of the house. Responding firefighters could not get close to the building due to the raging flames and scorching heat. A state trooper said the home was a total loss.
Of the 14 occupants of the house at the time of the fire, three adults were able to escape. Another was on a newspaper route, according to Baker.
As for the investigation, Lt. Derek Felsman said, “It’s a complex criminal investigation with multiple fatalities.” Autopsies have been conducted on five victims as of the last update Saturday and found that all five died of smoke inhalation. An excavator was used to dig through the rubble.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The cause of the apparent explosion and fire is unknown but is being investigated by state police fire marshals and assisting forensic service units.
