A family’s holiday tree reportedly caught fire on Christmas morning and resulted in the deaths of a father, two children and their two dogs.
Eric King, 40, his sons Liam, 11, and Patrick, 8, and their dogs died in the house fire in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Quakertown Police Chief Scott McElree told ABC 6.
‘Three family members are deceased as a result of the fire,’ McElree said. ‘We are looking at the Christmas tree that may have ignited as a result of Christmas lights on that Christmas tree.’
The fire at the two-story home started around 1.30am on Saturday. Firefighters quickly arrived at the scene and worked to extinguish the flames. They tried to enter the home and made a few attempts to rescue family members, unsuccessfully. It took an hour for firefighters to get the blaze under control.
Eric’s wife Kristin and their oldest son Brady were able to escape their home before the blaze destroyed it, according to officials. They were taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital for medical evaluation.
Quakertown Community School District Superintendent Bill Harney shared the news in a letter on Saturday evening.
‘It is with unbearable sorrow that I share with you this Christmas Day the tragic news that the King family, in a house fire early today, lost their father and two children, Richland Elementary School students, Liam, a fifth-grader, and Patrick, a third-grader,’ Harney wrote in the letter to the community.
‘Mom and Brady, an eighth-grader at Strayer Middle School, thankfully survived.’
A GoFundMe account for the King family has raised more than $600,000.
The fire spread to a home next door and destroyed it, but the family of four were all able to escape unharmed, officials said.
Another fire on Christmas morning killed two people in Trenton, New Jersey, according to ABC 6. The cause of the fire and the identities of the victims have not been released.
Officials said people during the winter months should not overload circuits and watch space heaters carefully.
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