PA House Fire Kills Father, 4 Kids, And Sister-In-Law

This is extremely sad.

According to NBC News:

A man, a woman and four children died after flames tore through a home overnight. And, the mother of the four kids witnessed the blaze, according to a friend. Firefighters later found all of the bodies on the third floor of the building, which sits on a steep hillside not far from the D.G. Yuengling & Son brewery in Pennsylvania’s coal country, about 90 miles northwest of Philadelphia. The Schuylkill County Coroner’s office identified the victims as Eric Brown, 30; and his children, Elijah Brown, 2; Emily Brown, 3; Jeremiah Brown, 7; and Joy Brown, 8.

Kristina Thomas, 26, also died. She’s the sister of 28-year-old Kelly Brown, the mother who survived. Brown’s wife was at a neighbor’s house doing laundry at the time of the blaze because her washing machine was broken, the friend — who asked to not be identified — told Zachry.

The mother ran towards the home and had to be held back by firefighters, the friend said. Video shot by FireandFilm.com shows heavy flames shooting out of nearly every window of the home as firefighters try to battle back the flames. Four firefighters suffered minor injuries battling the blaze. Two remained hospitalized Monday morning.

All seven stations from the Pottsville Fire Department as well as surrounding departments were on location, Lindenmuph said. It took firefighters about an hour to bring the fire under control. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. A fire official told Zachry that it appeared the fire may have started in the kitchen. Fire officials said it doesn’t appear that there were working smoke alarms in the home.

R.I.P.

NBC 10