13 Die from a House Fire in the Fairmount Section of Philadlephia

A horrible scenario is playing out in Philadelphia currently which has resulted in 13 deaths including 7 children.

Taken from the Philly.com section dedicated to this fire, I understand its paywalled so not everyone will be able to get to it so I will drop key items here : www.inquirer.com...

"WHAT WE KNOW
At least 13 people, including seven children, were killed in a fire Wednesday morning in a house in Philadelphia’s Fairmount section, authorities said.

The rowhouse is located on the 800 block of North 23rd Street, and is owned by the Philadelphia Housing Authority.

At least 26 people were living in the three-story rowhouse, according to Deputy Fire Commissioner Craig Murphy."

Where to donate to help victims of the Fairmount fire
It is still early, but there is at least one way to help, whether you are in Philadelphia or not.

Children First, a Philadelphia-based child advocacy nonprofit, has launched a fundraiser to help those affected, and is “reaching out to the community to find ways” to help. Formerly known as Public Citizens for Children and Youth, the group adds that all donations will go to the family and community affected by the fire.

It is likely that more fundraisers and ways to help will be announced in the coming days.

Fire officials say it’s still unclear how the blaze moved so quickly

Philadelphia fire officials said it’s unclear how a house fire killed 13 people in a short period of time, saying that firefighters rescued people swiftly once they arrived on scene.

Deputy fire commissioner Craig Murphy said during a news conference that just past 6:30 a.m., firefighters arrived at 869 N. 23rd St. and found that eight people had evacuated. Two others were rescued by first responders and taken to area hospitals.

Murphy denied the suggestion that authorities were slow to respond, and said “they got people out very quickly.”

He said the “heavy fire” engulfed the kitchen area of the second-floor apartment and ran up an open stairwell to the third floor.

“The only thing that was slowing that fire down from moving was,” he paused, “nothing was slowing that fire down.”

The Philadelphia Housing Authority owned the low rent row home which was comprised of a few different apartments. Based on released info so far the last inspection was in May at which time all fire alarms were in working condition though as the days events have played out it was stated that "Authorities said no fire alarms were working at the home that caught fire" so between May and now the fire safety element does not appear to have been maintained. Even though it is still early on in this scenario local residents are indicating that they had raised complaints about the viability or lack of adequate fire escapes in the building.

If applicable then there is a time and a place to hold people accountable in scenarios like this. Sadly my family has first hand experience in something similar as my uncle was one of the 3 firemen along with 3 children that died in a NJ house fire collapse on July 4th in 2005. That time to hold people accountable is not today though. Today people impacted by this need to be there for each other. Of the 13 souls that were lost in this fire 7 of them were children which makes this even more traumatizing not only the families left behind but for the firemen that battled this inferno.

Updated
www.inquirer.com...

A catastrophic fire tore through a rowhouse in Philadelphia’s Fairmount neighborhood before sunrise Wednesday and killed 12 people, including eight children, in one of the nation’s deadliest residential fires in decades.

Authorities did not identify the victims, but relatives and friends said they included two mothers and their children, some who attended a nearby elementary school and one possibly as young as 2. Together, they occupied the top unit of a three-story brick home in which at least four smoke detectors weren’t working.

Investigators couldn’t say what sparked the 6:30 a.m. blaze or why it became so deadly so swiftly. Federal agents were expected to join Philadelphia fire marshals in what is likely to be a complex and lengthy probe.

Authorities did not identify the victims, but relatives and friends said they included two mothers and their children, some who attended a nearby elementary school and one possibly as young as 2. Together, they occupied the top unit of a three-story brick home in which at least four smoke detectors weren’t working.

www.inquirer.com...

4 non-working smoke detectors sounds intentional to me. I'm not necessarily saying the fire was also intentional, but someone must have knowingly disabled the smoke detectors. I suppose it's possible that at an earlier time someone was burning some food, took the batteries out of the smoke detectors, and forgot to put them back in.


I've never been in one of those types of homes before, but it doesn't really look like there is any easy way to escape to the roof, but it sure does seem like there should be.



I wouldn't want to live somewhere where I couldn't jump out a window.

a reply to: BrokenCircles

There are constant articles in the public housing newsletters not to disable the smoke detectors which suggests it's a constant issue. No way to know if that was the case here.

originally posted by: ketsuko
a reply to: BrokenCircles

There are constant articles in the public housing newsletters not to disable the smoke detectors which suggests it's a constant issue. No way to know if that was the case here.

Let me guess: The smoke alarm starts giving that occasional beep when the battery begins to run low, and instead of replacing the battery they just take it out and leave the smoke alarm disabled.

Am I right?

Maybe I'm misunderstanding... 26 people were living in a single family unit?? Or was this a multiple tenant building?

a reply to: AndyFromMichigan

I always just assumed it was poor cooking, but the articles don't say. Maintenance will replace batteries though.

a reply to: BrokenCircles


Or for smoking? The no fire escape exits is horrible. Those poor kids/people

So I am pondering poor cooking as the culprit. You have someone who burns food often enough to disable the alarms. Then they cause a grease fire and try to put it out with water.

Fire engulfs the kitchen on the 2nd.

Horrible and a terrible tragedy for everyone.

originally posted by: jjkenobi
Maybe I'm misunderstanding... 26 people were living in a single family unit?? Or was this a multiple tenant building?

Apparently it had been divided into 3 apartments (1 per floor).

a reply to: KTemplar

I don't think I've ever heard a smoke alarm that was set off by cigarette and/or marijuana smoke, which seems kinda odd now that I'm thinking about it. The only time I've ever heard them was from cooking food, sometimes burning it but not always.


As far as the victims go, this is the type of thing where I prefer to assume that they died from smoke inhalation without ever waking up.