A fire that killed two young boys in Montgomery County less than two weeks before Christmas was sparked by the failure of an extension cord that was used to power a space heater, state police said Thursday.
The fire started on the porch of the Schwenksville, Pennsylvania home early Wednesday morning.
The fire killed two young sons of Montgomery County Deputy Sheriff Bryan Lukens. Lukens, his wife, Tracy, and their 9-year-old daughter, Soffia, made it out of the home, though they were hurt.
Bryan Jr., 11, and Parker, 6, died on the second floor, state police said.
Federal regulators say that space heaters should always be plugged directly into the wall, because the heaters need more power than many other electrical devices and can overheat.
"Please pray, pray for this family, especially now around the holidays... this is a horrible tragedy," neighbor Kim Munsell, who saw flames shooting from the home, said.
Tracy, Soffia and Deputy Lukens were treated at the hospital and released Wednesday.
Friends have set up a gofundme page to help the family.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the Lukens family as they grieve their losses," Montgomery County Sheriff Sean Kilkenny said.
Flames burned through parts of the home, which sits in a neighborhood near Perkiomen Creek. It took crews about 30 minutes to bring the blaze under control, police said.
