2022 — Jan 5, Row House/Apt. fire (8 children, 4 adults), Fairmont sec., Philadelphia, PA–12

–13 6ABC Action News, Philadelphia. “7 children among at least 13 dead…” 1-5-2022.
–12 NYT. “8 Children Among 12 Dead in Philadelphia Fire.” 1-5-2022, updated 1-6-2022.
–12 Prescott eNews. “Warrant: 5-year-old might have started deadly Philly blaze.” 1-7-2022.

Narrative Information

Jan 5: “Philadelphia (WPVI) — The Philadelphia Fire Department says seven children are among at least 13 dead after a house fire erupted in the Fairmount section of the city on Wednesday morning….

“Officials say 18 people lived in a 2nd-floor apartment of the three-story duplex. Another eight people lived on the first floor. Deputy Fire Commissioner Craig Murphy noted that 26 was a large number of people to be occupying a duplex, but a spokesperson for Philadelphia’s Department of Licenses and Inspections said the city does not limit the number of family members who can stay in a single unit….

“The fire broke out around 6:40 a.m. in the 800 block of N. 23rd Street. Firefighters arrived to find heavy flames shooting from the second story of the three-story row house. The odd configuration of the building – originally a single-family home that had been split into two apartments – made it difficult to navigate, Murphy said. The fire department said it took about 50 minutes to bring the fire under control….

“The cause of the fire remains under investigation. The ATF is responding to the scene to assist the Philly fire and police departments.

“Action News has learned there were seven smoke detectors and three carbon monoxide detectors in one of the apartments, and six smoke detectors with three carbon monoxide detectors in the other. The duplex is a Philadelphia Housing Authority property. In a statement, PHA President and CEO Kelvin A. Jeremiah confirmed the property was last inspected in the spring, and all smoke detectors were ‘operating properly at that time.’ Fire officials say when they arrived on scene the smoke detectors were not operating….

“Eight people were able to get out of the house, officials said. Two people were taken to the hospital. One went to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and one went to Temple University Hospital….” (6ABC Action News, Philadelphia. “7 children among at least 13 dead after duplex fire in Fairmount section of Philadelphia.” 1-5-2022.)

Jan 6: “Philadelphia…. The city had initially reported the death toll as 13, including seven children, but revised both figures on Wednesday evening….” (New York Times. “8 Children Among 12 Dead in Philadelphia Fire.” 1-5-2022, updated 1-6-2022.)

Jan 7: “Investigators are looking into whether a 5-year-old who was playing with a lighter set a Christmas tree on fire, sparking a conflagration that killed 12 family members in a Philadelphia rowhome, officials revealed Thursday. That disclosure was included in a search warrant application as city and federal investigators sought to determine the cause of the blaze, the city’s deadliest in more than a century, which took the lives of three sisters and several of their children early Wednesday….

“Fire officials provided few details at an afternoon news briefing, declining to say how many people escaped the blaze or speculate on a possible cause, adding the fire scene was complex. Officials also did not say where the fire began, calling it part of the investigation. ‘I know that we will hopefully be able to provide a specific origin and cause to this fire and to provide some answers to the loved ones and, really, to the city,’ said Matthew Varisco, who leads the Philadelphia branch of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives….

“In a statement at a Thursday night vigil, relatives said the matriarch of their family had lost three daughters and nine grandchildren in the blaze. The daughters were identified as Rosalee McDonald, Virginia Thomas and Quinsha White. There were two survivors, the family said. Temple University Hospital said one was in stable condition.

“In 2021, there were 14 people living in the upstairs four-bedroom apartment, according to Kelvin Jeremiah, the housing authority’s president and CEO. Six family members had moved there a decade ago, and the family had grown substantially since then, adding eight children, he said. PHA ‘does not evict people because they have children,’ Jeremiah said, responding to reporters’ questions about whether the house was big enough for so many people….

“The fire department previously said none of the four smoke alarms in the building appeared to have been working. But housing authority officials said Thursday the building actually had 13 tamper-resistant, 10-year detectors, all of which were operational during the last inspection in May 2021….

“The toll included eight children and four adults, officials said….” (Prescott eNews. “Warrant: 5-year-old might have started deadly Philly blaze.” 1-7-2022.)

Jan 7: “Philadelphia — A 5-year-old boy who escaped the fire that killed 12 people in a Fairmount apartment Wednesday told investigators the blaze started after he accidentally lit a Christmas tree on fire while playing with a lighter, according to police records obtained by The Inquirer.

“When first responders arrived at the three-story rowhouse before sunrise, the boy had made it out of the building. He then told a neighbor — and later a paramedic, a firefighter, and hospital staff — how the fire had started and that his mother had died.

“The new details emerged as local and federal investigators on Thursday continued to parse through the debris and interview surviving witnesses, and as family members of the victims gathered for an evening vigil in the neighborhood. Authorities have not officially identified the occupants who died in the upper unit of the brick duplex, but more names and details trickled out: Relatives said the victims were three adult sisters and nine of their children….

“The 5-year-old was among at least two family members who escaped the blaze, which ignited just after 6:30 a.m. It’s not clear how the boy got out, and why some other members of his family could not.

“According to the police records obtained by The Inquirer, a neighbor told investigators she was tending to the boy until medics arrived and he told her that his mother had died and that he had started the fire. The child made similar statements to a paramedic and a firefighter, as well as hospital staff at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. A detective then interviewed the child at the hospital — the questioning was captured on an officer’s body-worn camera — and the child said he was playing with an orange cigarette lighter and accidentally set the tree on fire….

“The Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office has yet to formally rule the deaths accidental or homicides. But no charges are anticipated — children under 10 cannot be criminally charged in Pennsylvania.

“Among those who died were sisters Rosalee McDonald, 33, Virginia Thomas, 30, and Quinsha White, 19, their relatives said…. One of the victims was 16-year-old Quintien Tate-McDonald, a Bache-Martin graduate who attended the Philadelphia Electrical and Technical Charter High School…. His younger sister, Destiny McDonald, also died in the fire. She was 14, and had graduated from eighth grade at Bache-Martin in June, according to a basketball coach.

“PHA officials said Thursday that there were six smoke detectors in the upper unit and that two had been replaced last spring during annual inspections when authorities typically check smoke detectors. At that time, Jeremiah said, batteries had been missing in a couple of the alarms but were replaced….”

Sources

6ABC Action News, Philadelphia. “7 children among at least 13 dead after duplex fire in Fairmount section of Philadelphia.” 1-5-2022. Accessed 1-5-2022 at: https://6abc.com/philadelphia-fire-fairmount-row-home-ogden-street-23rd/11428039/

EMS1.com. “Boy, 5, told first responders he started fatal Philadelphia fire that killed 12.” 1-7-2022. Accessed 1-9-2022 at: https://www.ems1.com/investigation/articles/boy-5-told-first-responders-he-started-fatal-philadelphia-fire-that-killed-12-RVpBejMQIE3j44D2/

New York Times. “8 Children Among 12 Dead in Philadelphia Fire.” 1-5-2022, updated 1-6-2022. Accessed 1-6-2022 at: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/01/05/us/philadelphia-fire

Prescott eNews. “Warrant: 5-year-old might have started deadly Philly blaze.” 1-7-2022. Accessed 1-7-2022 at: https://prescottenews.com/index.php/2022/01/07/warrant-5-year-old-might-have-started-deadly-philly-blaze/