Twin Sisters Die, Mother Hurt In Delaware County House Fire

UPPER DARBY, PA — Young, twin sisters died, and their mother was hurt in a Delaware County house fire early Tuesday morning.

The fire broke out at about 4 a.m. Tuesday at a rowhome on the 300 block of Margate Road in Upper Darby, Upper Darby Fire Department Chief Derrick Sawyer told Patch.

Initial reports said four people were in the home, but firefighters found just two children in a second floor bedroom, according to Sawyer.

Action News and NBC10 report the girls were 5 years old.

Sawyer said their mother escaped the fire out of a back second floor window, but was hurt and taken to a hospital.

Her condition is unknown as of 11:30 a.m.

"Our hearts go out to the family and loved ones of those precious children on Margate Rd," the Upper Darby Fire Department said in a social media post Tuesday morning.

Two firefighters suffered minor burns in fighting the fire, Sawyer said.

The fire was placed under control in about 24 minutes, he said.

"You have to have smoke alarms. You have to have an escape plan," Sawyer said.

Upper Darby residents can request new smoke alarms from the fire department online here.

Sawyer iterated the phrase "close before you doze," which aims to encourage closing doors before going to sleep.

Doing so can prevent fire from spreading to other areas of a home, giving much needed time to escape a burning structure, according to Sawyer.

"If those doors were closed, those children may not have died," he said.

The cause of the fire is still unknown and is under investigation.