At least 13 dead, including 7 children, in Philadelphia fire, official says

At least 13 people in Philadelphia were killed in an apartment building fire Wednesday morning, a fire official said.

Firefighters responded to a residential street in North Philadelphia around 6:40 a.m. and found “heavy fire” on the second story of a three-floor rowhouse, the Philadelphia Fire Department said in a tweet.

Philadelphia Fire Department First Deputy Fire Commissioner Craig Murphy said 13 people, including seven children, were killed in the blaze. Eight people were able to evacuate the building.

The building was a Philadelphia Housing Authority property, Murphy said. The fire occurred on North 23rd Street, according to the Philadelphia Fire Department.

It took 50 minutes to get the fire under control and the scene in the Fairmount neighborhood remains active, the department said.