PHILADELPHIA, PA – Tragedy struck a local Philadelphia community when a massive house fire in the Summerdale neighborhood claimed the lives of a woman and a child Saturday morning. The flames reportedly ignited just past 7:30 a.m. within a residence located on the 900 block of Granite Street.
Firefighting units arrived swiftly at the location, only to find the first level of the house already consumed by the fire. At that time, six individuals were inside the house.
Reporting from the grief-stricken scene, Assistant Fire Chief Rob Wilkins confirmed the fatalities– a 31-year-old woman and an 8-year-old girl, both found dead in a second-floor bedroom.
Among the survivors, a 32-year-old man and a 9-year-old boy managed to escape the burning house. Both suffered third-degree burns and are currently listed in critical condition in nearby hospitals. Another resident, a 28-year-old man, sustained minor burns to his hand, and an unidentified man managed to flee the scene.
Neighbor Jahairah Castro shared how her father tried to help upon noticing the smoke and flames. “He was able to save two, as much he wanted to save all of them,” she recounted.
Heartbreaking expressions of helplessness filled the neighborhood. Genesis Martinez, another local resident, shared how he tried to warn his neighbors of the flames so that they could get out of the building.
In a sad twist, the fire also forced an adjacent family to evacuate their row home. Fortunately, these occupants managed to escape unharmed.
Firefighters determined that there were no working fire alarms in the house, underlining the critical importance of smoke detectors in residential properties.
This recent incident marks the second fatal fire in Philadelphia in as many days, leaving the city in mourning. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.