Philadelphia christmas windows

Officials did not provide their ages. Fires involving Christmas trees are much more likely to be fatal than other types of house fires because they become fully engulfed so quickly, according to the National Fire Protection Association, a nonprofit safety group.

There are about Christmas tree fires each year in the U. Flames damaged only a small part of that story building in the Bronx, but smoke poured through the building after tenants fleeing the unit where the blaze began left the apartment door open behind them in their hurry to escape, officials said.

Before the Philadelphia blaze, the Bronx had also held the distinction for a recent deadly fire, one that killed 13 people, according to data from the National Fire Protection Association. That fire started after a 3-year-old boy was playing with stove burners. This story was first published Jan.

It was updated Jan. Skip to content. Restaurant Report Card. Pollen Count. Marquee Matchup. Classroom Champions. About Us. Meet the Team. Send Us Photos and Videos. Telemundo Central Texas. Gray DC Bureau. Investigate TV. The intense fire started Wednesday morning on the second floor of the building in a duplex unit, and all fatalities occurred in the same unit, city officials said.

A lighter was found near the Christmas tree on the second floor, and there appear to have been no other possible ignition sources based on the preliminary investigation, according to Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Adam Thiel. Only two people in the unit survived the fire, including a 5-year-old child, who fire officials believe was the only person on the second floor at the time the fire started, Thiel said.

The blaze was very fast-moving and difficult to fight, with high heat, toxic smoke and no visibility. Other agencies may classify the fire as accidental, he noted. There were six smoke alarms in the unit where the fire started, though none were operational, according to Thiel. Four were in drawers and inoperable, one was on the ceiling but did not have a battery, and another was on the floor of a bedroom without a battery. Two people, including the child, were critically injured and hospitalized.

The 5-year-old was found on the second floor, while the second survivor escaped out a window, officials said. City officials said a family, including three sisters and their children, lived in the apartment. The 12 people killed in the fire all died of smoke inhalation, according to the Philadelphia Department of Public Health's Medical Examiner's Office.

Nine were children, city officials said. The building was operated by the Philadelphia Housing Authority. The agency is reviewing the incident and will "carefully explore all options with regard to how we can continue to ensure the safety of our residents," Kelvin Jeremiah, director of the Philadelphia Housing Authority, said Tuesday.

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