Investigations continue into tragic fire in Philadelphia

Investigations seek to determine if a 5-year-old started it

T his Wednesday, thirteen people, including 7 children, died in Philadelphia in a fire that broke out in a three-story house, the house is owned by the Philadelphia Housing Authority, a municipal agency that rents houses to low-income people.

Investigators who assigned the case are working to report the cause of the fire that killed 12 people.

The spokesperson for the Philadelphia district attorney's office, Jane Roh, said they are investigating whether the cause of the fire was caused by a 5-year-old boy who was playing with a lighter, but at the same time they are investigating other evidence, so They still can't press charges against anyone.

A difficult fire to control

The firefighters arrived at the scene of the fire around 6:30 am, and they found a very strong fire in the part of the kitchen on the second floor, which meant that there was nothing to prevent the advance of the fire; so said Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Craig Murphy.

Also assisting in the fire investigation are city police and the Philadelphia Department of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Deaths of families caused by the fire

12 people died in the fire, including three sisters and nine of their children according to their cousins Frank and Pamela McDonald.

The three sisters were called

1- Rosalee McDonald, 33 years old.

2- Virginia Thomas, 30 years old.

3-Quinsha White, 18.

6 children of Rosalee McDonald died and three of Virginia Thomas's, the ages of her children are not yet known, but the 5-year-old survived the fire.

The smoke detectors weren't working well

Since 1950 the house was legally divided into two apartments, and so far it had not committed any problems, so said the Philadelphia Department of Licensing and Inspections.

Fire officials Craig Murphy said there were 4 smoke detectors and none of them worked, also noted that the records they had at the property show that at least six battery-operated smoke detectors had been installed.

However, Dinesh Indala, the PHA's executive vice president of operations, said the agency had other information from the detectors. In this regard, he mentioned that in Unit A of the department, there were seven smoke detectors and three carbon monoxide detectors.

He also mentioned that Unit B had six smoke detectors and three carbon monoxide detectors, in its last inspection in 2021. They affirm that the smoke detectors were in perfect condition.

In 2021, two smoke detectors and two batteries were replaced in the building, the fire chief determined that they were missing.