What to Know
- A 3-year-old boy and his 36-year-old mother died and four people were hurt in a smoky blaze inside a South Philadelphia home early Friday.
- Fire Commissioner Adam Thiel addressed the fire deaths, the latest in a deadly start to 2019 in Philadelphia.
- "It's been a pretty tragic start to the year," Thiel said. "We do want people to remember that fire is everyone's fight."
A smoky Friday morning South Philadelphia row home fire left a 3-year-old boy and his mother dead inside and four other family members who escaped hurt.
When firefighters arrived to the home on South 3rd Street near Shunk Street just after 2 a.m. they didn’t see flames visible from the street, Fire Commissioner Adam Thiel said. But, when they entered the house, they experienced heavy smoke and fire on the first floor.
During a second search of the home firefighters found a 36-year-old woman and 3-year-old boy dead, Philadelphia police and firefighters said.
“Not the outcome we had hoped for,” Thiel said. “A very difficult morning for us and for this neighborhood."
Authorities didn't reveal the relationship of the woman and child but a family member told NBC10 they were Anna Khuu and her son Andrew. The family had just celebrated Andrew's third birthday in November.
Four people escaped the flames, at least three jumped from windows, Thiel said. The injured — a grandmother, grandfather, aunt and the boy's father — suffered injuries ranging from a broken bones to burns, the family member said.
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It took about one hour to bring the fire under control.
The fire marshal worked Friday to determine the cause of the fire.
This is the latest deadly fire in Philadelphia so far this year. The fire commissioner addressed the "troubling" deadly start to 2019 with four to seven fire deaths already this year:
"It's been a pretty tragic start to the year," Thiel said. "We do want people to remember that fire is everyone's fight."
Thiel urged people to have working smoke detectors and closing doors when they sleep to help lessen the effect of a blaze. It was unclear if either factor played a role in this blaze.
