Investigators in eastern Pennsylvania say a house fire that claimed the lives of six members of a family on Mother's Day was accidental.
Chief Todd March of the Pottsville fire department told The (Pottsville) Republican-Herald that the May 12 fire began in a kitchen on the second floor of Pottsville home and spread up the stairs to the third floor, where all six victims were found.
Killed were 31-year-old Eric Brown, his sister-in-law, 26-year-old Kristina Thomas, and Brown's children: 2-year-old Elijah Brown; 3-year-old Emily Brown; 7-year-old Jeremiah Brown; and 8-year-old Joy Brown.
Dr. David Moylan, the Schuylkill County coroner, said all six victims died of carbon monoxide poisoning and smoke inhalation.
Officials said the home didn't have working smoke detectors at the time of the fire.
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