Nine people are dead in a South Memphis house fire. Four adults and three children died on the scene, and three children were taken to Le Bonheur. Two of those children died, and one remains in extremely critical condition.
It began about 1:30 a.m. in the 100 block of Severson. Firefighters remained on the scene all morning.
“This is devastating to our fire crews to come to a scene of this magnitude. ,” said Lt. Wayne Cook with Memphis Fire Department.
Memphis Fire Director Gina Sweat said it appears the fire started in the living room, but the cause of the fire is under investigation. Firefighters did find a smoke detector, but it’s unclear whether it was working.
“Nothing in our training can truly prepare us for this type of heartbreaking event,” says Director Sweat. “As I walked through with the paramedics and first responders this morning, I could see the pain in their eyes and I could see the heavy emotions in their hearts. They were emotionally drained… We are trained to be strong in the face of adversity but we are also fathers, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, and grandparents, and many times our minds cannot forget what our eyes have seen.”
“Our whole city is in mourning for the loss of much of one family,” says Mayor Jim Strickland. “I ask Memphians to take some time out, right now, throughout this day or over the next few days, and pray for the family members remaining.”
The Memphis Fire Department says this is the deadliest house fire since the 1920s. A smoke detector was found but it’s unclear if it worked.
(Information from LocalMemphis.com)
