A little girl died over the weekend after flames engulfed her family's Northeast Philadelphia home on Thursday.
Now, friends and relatives are planning to gather at a 2 p.m. memorial at a Northeast playground to honor the little girl's memory.
Sophia Olsen, 5, died after fire tore through her family's home on Hereford Lane in the Northeast's Morrell Park neighborhood Thursday evening. The little girl was trapped in a second-floor bedroom, and her mother suffered injuries and smoke inhalation running back into the home to rescue her.
When firefighters finally reached Sophia, witnesses said, she was barely alive, suffering from severe smoke inhalation. She survived on a ventilator briefly after the fire, but died over the weekend, according to posts on a GoFundMe page set up for her family and a Facebook page at a playground and kids' recreation program where she attended classes.
Sophia's mother was also taken to the hospital in critical condition. She survived.
Sophia will be remembered with a memorial service at Chalfont Playground, at 4330 Deerpath Ln. in Northeast Philadelphia, at 2 p.m. on Sunday.
An off-duty police officer who ran into the home to try to help rescue the little girl also sustained injuries in the fire and received treatment at a local hospital.
The cause of the fire has not been revealed.
