A pregnant woman and two of her children died in a fire in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. City officials believe that the fire was intentional. Additionally, the kids’ grandmother was hospitalized after jumping out of the building through a window with the late woman’s third child.
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According to NBC 10, the incident took place on Friday, June 13, at around 5 a.m. at a Corlies Street residence. Officials revealed that, when the fire broke out, five people were inside the house. These include the aforementioned pregnant woman, her three children, and the grandmother.
The fire quickly engulfed the Corlies Street home, leaving the family little to no time to escape. Inside the house, the pregnant woman, identified as Ashley Thompson, was found dead on the second floor. She was seven months pregnant.
Two other children, identified as Alya and Assad, as per Fox 29, were rushed to a local hospital where they were pronounced dead. They were both six years old.
The grandmother managed to escape the inferno by jumping out a window. She had Thompson’s 1-year-old child in her hands, heroically saving them. The grandmother is in critical condition at a local hospital while the 1-year-old is in stable condition.
Authorities are currently investigating the cause of the fire. However, they have confirmed that it was intentional, and that one person of interest is in custody. No charges have been filed, as per Fox 29.
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Chyna, one family member who lived at the house, was devastated following her family members’ deaths.
“Innocent kids, my nephew just graduated yesterday,” Chyna told NBC 10. “Assad, that little boy, he just graduated yesterday.”
She then returned to the residence and called the incident a tragedy. Talking to the one responsible for the fire, she said, as per Fox 29, “You all took my family. You all took four innocent lives, including that baby she had in her stomach that was very healthy, and she was about to have. That’s a tragedy.”
Yessenia Nieves, one of the Thompsons’ neighbors, said that the whole incident was “really fast.”
“We looked out the window, it was engulfed in flames by the time my husband came downstairs,” Nieves said. “She had already jumped out the window and there was no going back in to help anyone else.”