PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — City officials convened Tuesday to reveal their preliminary findings of what caused the fire in Fairmount that killed 12 people last week.
Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Adam Thiel confirmed “with 99% certainty” that a Christmas tree first caught fire in the blaze. A lighter that was nearby was likely the source of the ignition.
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The fire broke out in the early-morning hours of Jan. 5. Eighteen people were inside the duplex. The blaze killed a family of 12, including eight children.
Investigators looked into the Christmas tree as a cause of the fire after one of the surviving children, a 5-year-old, had talked about playing with a lighter near a Christmas tree.
The child was the only person on the second floor, with the tree and lighter, when the fire erupted, fire officials said.
None of the smoke detectors inside the duplex were working properly. Most of the victims were in back bedrooms, likely sleeping.
Investigators will release a final report in the coming weeks or months.