PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A community in mourning attended a vigil on Sunday night near the site in Northeast Philadelphia where a woman and little girl were killed in a fire over the weekend.
Around 7:30 a.m. Saturday, officials say, a home on Granite Street went up in flames while six people were inside. Investigators say a 31-year-old woman and an 8-year-old girl died at the scene.
Richard Castro, who lives nearby, told KYW news partners NBC 10 at the vigil that he saw smoke in one of the windows of the home but didn't see anyone coming out.
"So I got nervous, and I started yelling, 'Somebody, help! Help!' And I noticed the one guy coming out of the one window. And when I didn't see anybody coming out of the bottom, I decided to break the door down," Castro said.
He says another man helped him knock down the door.
"So I went in, I grabbed the father, and then I put my stuff on the ground and I crawled, and I got the little boy and I took him out."
A 9-year-old boy and a 32-year-old man were taken to the hospital, where they remain in critical condition, according to authorities.
They say a 28-year-old man was also hurt.
Investigators are looking into what caused the fire.
A 66-year-old woman died in a separate blaze early Friday morning in Kensington.
The Fire Department determined that fire to be arson. Police say they arrested 38-year-old Shadeek McDowell, who is facing charges.
