Dozens of Liberian immigrants gathered Saturday at the site of a devastating house fire where they said seven members of their community died after an accident with a kerosene heater.
Authorities have not yet released the names of the victims, but fire survivor Harris Murphy said those trapped in the basement blaze were, like him, part of the large Liberian enclave in southwest Philadelphia.
The blaze broke out around 10:45 p.m. Friday in a three-story brick duplex, killing two men, a woman, a teenage girl, a 1-year-old boy and two other children, a girl and a boy, fire department spokesman Executive Chief Daniel Williams said.
The 1-year-old was cradled in the arms of one of the victims, fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers said. The boy was later pronounced dead at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
The medical examiner identified one adult and three children, and said the children died of smoke inhalation, while the adult died of smoke inhalation and burns. The four were identified as Henry W. Gbokoloi, 54, of Yeadon; 8-year-old Ramere Markese Wright-Dosso, 6-year-old Mariam Iyanya Dosso, and 1-year-old Zyhire Xzavier Wright-Teah, all from the same home on Willows Ave. in Southwest Philadelphia.
The other victims still had not been identified.
Four people survived the fire including Murphy, 35, who lives down the street but was watching a movie with others at the home when the flames erupted.
Fire marshals have not yet released the cause of the blaze. But Murphy said it started after a woman added fuel to a kerosene heater and, when it became too hot, tried to move it outside through the basement's only door.
Some of the flaming liquid spilled out and set the carpet on fire, and several people in the room tried to stamp out the flames, Murphy said.
The heater then "exploded," he said.
Murphy said he ran into a basement bathroom with Gbokoloi and some children, got in the tub and turned on the shower to try to wait out the flames until firefighters arrived. After a few moments, he said he decided to make a break for it because the smoke was growing thick.
The whole basement was engulfed in fire and "I just ran through it," he said.
A preliminary investigation showed the basement had one exit to the exterior and that the interior basement stairs had been removed, the fire department said in a statement.
After making it out, Murphy called authorities and told them there were children trapped in the shower. He was expecting that they would be found alive, but learned hours later that seven people had perished. Gbokoloi was his best friend for many years, Murphy said.
Inza Dosso, the father of two of the children killed in the fire, said he doesn't live with the youngsters, but saw them on Wednesday to give them Christmas presents. He said he didn't get to see them open the gifts.
Some Liberians who came to the house Saturday morning did not know who died but, because of the home's location, feared they would know one or more of the victims. The neighborhood is home to many of the city's 15,000 Liberian immigrants.
The names of the dead -- and the survivors -- quickly spread through cell phone calls and word-of-mouth after Murphy and victims' relatives arrived at the site.
Anthony Kesselly, president of the Union of Liberian Associations in the Americas, lives nearby and said he knew Gbokoloi very well. He came to the house as soon as he heard the news Saturday morning and was not surprised to see the growing crowd.
"We are very close-knit people," Kesselly said.
Murphy, who moved from Liberia to the U.S. in 1996, said "it was a miracle of God" that he escaped. He had large bandages on his head and right hand, and suffered visible burns and blisters on his nose, ears and left hand.
Fire officials said six victims were found huddled together in the front of the basement, one of them cradling the baby. The seventh was found near the basement door.
The fire commissioner said there were no smoke detectors in the house.
