A large house fire in Philadelphia early Wednesday caused fatalities, according to authorities, who declined to say how many people died.
Firefighters and police responded to the fire at a three-story rowhouse in the city's Fairmount neighborhood around 6:40 a.m. and found flames coming from the second-floor windows, fire officials said. The house had been converted into two apartments, police said.
The fire was brought under control after less than an hour, but officials remained on the scene as of 9:30 a.m.
Fire damaged windows are seen at the scene of a deadly row house fire, Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022, in the Fairmount neighborhood of Philadelphia. (AP PhotoMatt Rourke)
Neighbors told television journalists that children lived in the house. WPVI-TV reported that at least one child was seen taken out on a stretcher.
Television news footage showed ladders propped up against the smoke-blackened front of the house, with all its windows missing. Holes remained in the roof where firefighters had broken through.
Philadelphia firefighters and police work at the scene of a deadly row house fire, Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022, in the Fairmount neighborhood of Philadelphia. Firefighters and police responded to the fatal fire at a three-story rowhouse in around 6:40 a.m. and found flames coming from the second-floor windows, fire officials said. (AP PhotoMatt Rourke)
Philadelphia firefighters work at the scene of a deadly row house fire, Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022, in the Fairmount neighborhood of Philadelphia. (AP PhotoMatt Rourke)