PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A rowhome fire in Kensington claimed the lives of three children and a man early Sunday morning. One woman was also hospitalized.
According to fire officials, it was around 2 a.m. when the fire broke out in a two-story house on the 3200 block of Hartville Street, near E Street and Allegheny Avenue.
Despite firefighters arriving within minutes, officials told KYW Newsradio three children and their father died in the fire. Their mother was able to escape by jumping out of a second floor window. She was injured and taken to the hospital.
Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Adam Thiel said although the first truck arrived two minutes after the call, they were unable to immediately get all of the necessary equipment down the tight street, due to heavy fire volume.
"However, as they always do, our firefighters got in here and mounted an aggressive interior attack in search for life. As they went inside, they were able to start to knock down the fire, get in, get upstairs. They were able to put hands on one of the juveniles inside. Unfortunately, it was too late," said Thiel.
"Unfortunately with fires burning hotter and faster than ever before, despite the best efforts of our members, we are tragically and unfortunately, as of this morning, often too late to make the difference we want to make," he added. "For us, the worst possible thing is to not to be able to save a life."
A neighbor, Jose, knew the man who died very well.
"I feel because he was a good neighbor, he was family, you know what I mean?" he shared. "He bothered nobody. He had a wife, had two jobs."
Jose said his son went to help the children's mother, after she jumped from the window.
"My wife told me she heard a noise. Then when she heard the noise, she came out, and then my son Angel came out," recalled Jose.
"He said, 'Dad, she jumped out of a window all burned up.' Angel, he got a blanket and covered [her] up."
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Officials said there were no working smoke detectors in the home. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Thiel said this fire is the latest instance of what he termed "a fire problem" in Philadelphia, and that the city averages seven to eight severe fires per day, with more fires per capita than anywhere else.
"So far this year ... before 2 o'clock this morning, we've had 17 fire fatalities already," he said, including the 12 people killed in December's Fairmount Fire.
"Just since January 1, we've had 38 of our neighbors injured in fire-related incidents, and more than 312 families have been displaced by fires just in the period from January 1 until today."
People have already started coming together to support the family of the four people lost in the fire.
Principal Charlotte Maddox of Lewis Elkin Elementary School said two of the children were students at Elkin.
"They are our babies," she said, "and on a Sunday, we are here with the family, partnering with them, to make sure that anything is needed, that they receive."
The school has launched a GoFundMe page to raise money for funeral costs, the mother's medical expenses, and anything else the family needs. Maddox said the school is also partnering with the Fire Department's Prevention Unit, to give students lessons. Counselors will also be available.
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In addition, Maddox said Elkin is signing families up for smoke detectors, to be installed by the department.
According to Thiel, the department has installed more than 4,200 detectors around the city, "yet, we're still seeing fires where there are no working smoke alarms."
How do you best prepare for a fire? KYW Newsradio In Depth talks to fire officials for advice on safety and prevention.
KYW Newsradio's Andre Bennett contributed to this story.