A fire that tore through a house in Pennsylvania killed 10 people — including three children — early Friday morning, all of whom were members of the same family and related to a volunteer firefighter who responded to the blaze.
Three children, ages 5, 6 and 7, and seven adults were killed in the Nescopeck fire, state police said. Three others were able to escape the inferno, according to first responders.
Nescopeck Volunteer Firefighter Harold Baker told The Citizens’ Voice of Wilkes-Barre, that the victims included his son, daughter, father-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, three grandchildren and two other relatives.
“When we turned the corner here on Dewey [Street] I knew immediately which house it was just by looking down the street,” Baker told the newspaper. “I was on the first engine and when we pulled up the whole place was fully involved. We were trying to get in on them.”
Thirteen dogs were also in the home and it went up in flames around 2:30 a.m., Baker said WNEP. It was unclear if any of them survived.
“The kids that were there, and my two kids, were just visiting their aunt and uncle. They’re the ones who own the house. They were there visiting and going in the pool and all that,” Baker reportedly said .
A loud popping sound or explosion was heard by neighbors who reported seeing the house quickly go up in flames.
“They’re all dead,” a young man screamed in front of the house, some neighbors said.
A “complex criminal investigation” was underway, Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Derek Felsman said.
With AP cords
