Four kids among six family members killed in Syracuse fire

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – An early morning fire tore through a home in Syracuse on Friday, killing six members of the same family, including four children.

Syracuse Fire Department officials said the blaze was reported around 3:50 a.m. at a home on the city’s north side. When firefighters arrived just minutes after receiving a 911 call, the front of the house was engulfed in flames, officials said.

Fire Chief Paul Linnertz said firefighters were attempting to enter the front of the burning two-story home when the porch roof collapsed, forcing them to retreat.

“So they had to back out and find another way into the house,” said Linnertz, who confirmed six people were killed.

Firefighters used ladders to enter the second floor, where they found four bodies. Two others were found downstairs.

The flames were put out about 30 minutes later.

Linnertz told Time Warner Cable News that all six victims were related. A seventh person was able to escape and has been taken to a hospital. No other information was released.

Michael Henesey, spokesman for the Syracuse City School District, said the victims include “four of our students.” He didn’t provide other information, including the students’ gender, ages or what grade they were in.

WSTM-TV, which first reported that students were among the victims, said the school district’s crisis response team was being made available to students and staff at the schools the children attended.

Sebira Pehlic told The Syracuse Post-Standard that she “heard a boom” about an hour after returning home from work at 3 a.m. Friday. She looked out a window and saw smoke and flames coming from a house four doors away.

Pehlic says the fire spread quickly. A photo she took shows a wall of flames shooting from the front of the house.

Pehlic said the family living at the home had two daughters ages 7 and 12.

The cause of the fire was being investigated.