PHILADELPHIA – A woman and her three children were found dead after a house fire in Philadelphia, authorities said.
Crews were called to the blaze at the row home in the Kensington neighborhood shortly before 8 a.m. Saturday and found heavy flames and smoke coming from the first and second floors of the row home, Fire Commissioner Adam Thiel said.
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Sixty firefighters, medics and support workers responded to what he called an “aggressive interior attack" as crews pushed hoses into the building, he said.
A 35-year-old woman was found downstairs, and her three children — 9-year-old and 17-year-old males and an 11-year-old female — were found upstairs, police said. All were pronounced dead at the scene by a medic unit just after 8 a.m. Saturday.
Javon Davis, assistant deputy fire commissioner, said the city medical examiner will determine whether the deaths were fire-related.
Thiel called it “a very difficult morning for us."
“The worst thing for any firefighter is not being able to save a life," he said.
The cause of the blaze remains under investigation.