Philly fires: 2 pulled from rubble of Germantown rowhome fire as family grieves
Couple killed in Germantown house fire
24 hours after a 2-alarm fire gutted a home in Germantown, a couple who lived in the residence were found inside.
GERMANTOWN - The bodies of a couple were found inside their home in Germantown after a fire tore through the residence Thursday.
Friday was an excruciating day for family members of the couple who lived in the home on Brinton Street. They stood vigil outside the burned-out home as fire crews searched for the two people.
Deadly Germantown fire claims lives of couple
The bodies of a couple were found after a fire tore through their home 24 hours earlier.
What we know:
A large fire consumed a rowhome on the 500 block of Brinton Street Thursday about 5 p.m., as fire crews quickly sounded 2-alarms while they battled the flames.
At one point, 110 firefighters spent hours trying to control the blaze.
On Friday, family members embraced as the Philadelphia Fire Marshall had the grizzly task of sifting through the rubble for any signs of the couple who lived there.
Philadelphia fires: ATF assisting in Germantown, Kensington fire investigations
The ATF's Arson and Explosives Task Force has joined the investigation into two Philadelphia fires. Two people remain unaccounted for following a fire at a twin home in Germantown.
Sadly, they were both found dead inside the home.
What they're saying:
Niece of the couple, Linda McKie, tried to express her emotions, "It’s just hard to put into words. I don’t know how to feel. This is my grandparents’ home. I think we had it for 66 years. My parents were married here. I’m just at a loss for words."
Her uncle, Mark McKie, was identified by family members as living inside the home when the fire broke out.
His girlfriend, who also lived in the home, was identified by family members as Marie Dickens.
"I’m still trying to process it. Still trying to process it," Marie Dickens’s son, Christion Smith stated.
He believed his mother was in the home. Dickens and McKie had been a couple for years, living in the third floor of the home.
Smith waited and watched as fire investigators with the ATF, searched for his mother and said, "She’s the type of person that would give a person on the street the shirt off her back. Strangers helping strangers. Very caring."
He also talked about their last few times together, "I spoke with her on Tuesday but I saw her on her birthday, March 21st. Spent time with her but the last time I spoke to her was on Tuesday."
Big picture view:
As fire marshals search for a cause for the fire, this close-knit, large family say the loss hasn’t even started to set in.
"He was just a normal person just life and light," McKie said.
What's next:
One firefighter was injured in the fire. They were taken to the hospital and have since been released.
A cause into the fire is being investigated.