The holiday weekend was marked with tragedy on Saturday in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A fire broke out early Saturday morning among a block of row homes that mark the inner city. The fast moving fire engulfed 10 two story houses and was controlled after about an hour of intense work by city firefighters. In the end, four children were killed and at least 40 people were left homeless.
According to witness Jeff Boone, the fire spread so fast it looked like someone “had used a flamethrower.” He called 911 and tried to alert his neighbors. Another witness Milton Musa stated that his roommates had woke him up. When he went outside, he saw children hanging from windows trying to escape the fire. “I could see they weren’t strong, and I was afraid they’d fall to the cement, so I went underneath them, let them fall on my back and carried them away…everyone was running for their lives. I’ve lost everything. My paperwork, my documents, my house. Everything,” stated Musa.
Authorities have not determined the cause of the blaze. Fire Commissioner Derrick Sawyer said, “This is a tragic, tragic day for the city of Philadelphia. Tragic. We lost four children today.”
