A Christmas tree fire caused the blaze that killed 12 relatives in a Philadelphia rowhome duplex, investigators confirmed Tuesday as they identified victims and announced preliminary findings, but stopped short of officially saying a 5-year-old boy playing with a lighter was behind it.
The 12 people who died in last week's Fairmount rowhome fire were not alerted to the flames because the smoke detectors in their unit were inoperable, Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Adam Thiel said. He also said on Tuesday that it is likely the fire started when a 5-year-old boy ignited a Christmas tree with a lighter. The Philadelphia Department of Public Health provided the names of the victims for the first time on Tuesday: Rosalee McDonald, 33; Virginia Thomas, 30; Quinsha White, 18; Quientien Tate-McDonald, 16; Destiny McDonald, 15; Shaniece Wayne, 10; Dekwan Robinson, 8; Natasha Wayne, 7; J'Kwan Robinson, 5; Janiyah Roberts, 3; Taniesha Robinson, 3; Tiffany Robinson, 2.
Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Adam Thiel said Tuesday that a Christmas tree ignited by a lighter sparked a deadly rowhome fire in Fairmount that killed 12, including nine children.
(PHILADELPHIA) A fast-moving fire in a Philadelphia row house that killed 12 people last week, including nine children, likely started after a Christmas tree was lit ablaze with a lighter, fire officials said Tuesday. 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. "We believe with certainty, with 99 to 100% confidence, that the first item ignited in this blaze was a Christmas tree," Thiel said during a press briefing Tuesday. "We believe with near certainty, based on the evidence, that the ignition source for that tree was a lighter that was located nearby." Only two people in the unit survived the fire, including a 5-year-old