In 90 Seconds, Philly Fire Became 'Untenable And Deadly': Investigators

PHILADELPHIA — Officials Tuesday said they are near certain a lighter started a fire in a Christmas tree in a home on the 800 block of North 23rd Street in Philadelphia last week, which led to the death of nine children and three adults. The fire became lethal and uncontainable in a very short period of time, investigators found.

During a news conference Tuesday, Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Adam Thiel said preliminary investigative results revealed the fire began in a Christmas tree at 869 N. 23rd St., Unit B, at about 6:30 a.m. Wednesday last week.

Thiel said it is near certain that a lighter played a role in starting the fire.

Initial reports said a 5-year-old child told investigators the fire started with a lighter and the tree.

Thiel said the preliminary investigation has not found anything to disprove the child's claim, but that does not mean the child's words are wholly accurate.

"We are left with the words of that traumatized five-year-old child to understand how the lighter and tree came together with tragic consequences, because our investigators have disproved other theories," he said.

It took 90 second to three minutes for the fire to become untenable and deadly, Thiel said, citing preliminary information.

The tree was in the southwest corner of the unit's front living room, and the unit's open stairwell to the building's third story contributed to the speed and intensity of the fire.

"This was a really fast moving and difficult fire," he said.

The fire has been described by the Philadelphia Fire Department's classification as incendiary, meaning human action was taken to start the blaze and it was not an accidental fire, Thiel said. Other agencies' classifications may describe the fire as accidental, he said.

According to Thiel, the apartment had seven smoke detectors, six of which were operated by 9 volt batteries.

Three of those were not working and in a kitchen drawer, one was in a bedroom drawer not working, another was on the ceiling of a bedroom with no battery inside, and another was on a bedroom floor with no battery.

The property was inspected in April 2021 and May 2021, and during those inspections all smoke detectors were operating properly, according to PHA representatives.

The seventh smoke detector was in the basement and was operational, but Thiel said due to smoke and heat rising, that detector activated too late.

Thiel said all the information given Tuesday is preliminary and subject to change.

Philadelphia Housing Authority President & CEO Kelvin Jeremiah spoke about the occupancy issues brought up regarding the deadly fire.

A mother and her three daughters moved into the unit in 2011, and from 2013 through last week, the family grew, with Jeremiah saying 14 people were authorized to live in the unit.

However, he said the housing authority does not know the extent to which how many people who are not know the authority and not on PHA property leases are in their properties.

The PHA and HUD do not have policies to preclude in-tact families from living in the same place.

Philadelphia Council President Darryl Clarke said based on cultural diversity and intergenerational nature of the city, Philadelphia no longer tries to enforce occupancy regulations.

Mayor Jim Kenney said there should be no judgement on situations where multiple generations share a living space.

Editor's note: this story has been updated to reflect the new number of adults and children who died in the fire.