Friends and family are mourning two adults as well as two girls who perished in an early morning house fire in Norristown over the weekend.
The fire started inside a twin home along the 800 block of Dekalb Street around 4 a.m. Saturday. Responding firefighters were met by heavy flames on the first floor and the blaze quickly grew to two alarms.
A man, later identified by family members as 74-year-old El Pidio Fuentes Lopez, and another adult, who has not yet been identified, were both found dead inside the home. Jennifer Vinalay, 11, and her sister, Yaritza Vinalay, 6, were also found critically injured inside. Yaritza was taken to the Albert Einstein Medical Center where she died from her injuries Saturday. Jennifer was taken to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia where officials said she died overnight Monday into Tuesday.
The girls' family set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for their funerals.
Five other people inside the home were also taken to nearby hospitals with undisclosed injuries.
The fire appeared to have originated on the enclosed porch of the home though investigators said they don’t believe it was suspicious.
Manuel Irizarry, the son of Fuentes Lopez, described his father as the family’s patriarch.
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“We’re gonna miss him and we’re gonna love him,” Irizarry said. “We’re here as a family. He liked to play cards, sports and be with the family.”
Fuentes Lopez is not related to Jennifer and Yaritza. Neighbors told NBC10 the father of the two girls frantically tried to save them during the fire.
“He was yelling for help and for us to call 911,” said Marco Vargas, one of the witnesses.
A memorial continued to grow Monday outside the home where the fire took place. Red Cross officials and firefighters also went door to door nearby with ready-to-install smoke alarms. Investigators are trying to determine whether the home had working alarms.
“You need a 10-year lithium battery, smoke alarm and a fire escape plan,” said Judge Renee Hughes of the Red Cross.
The blaze was one of three deadly fires that occurred in our area Saturday.
A couple died in their bedroom after a fire tore through the third floor of their row home on the 1700 block of Moore Street in South Philadelphia around midnight. Another blaze broke out inside an apartment building along the 4700 block of Hazel Avenue in West Philadelphia around 7:35 a.m. A man inside the building who investigators believe tried to fight back the flames instead of escaping, died in the fire. Another resident was taken to a nearby hospital with undisclosed injuries.
