9 dead in early morning Memphis house fire

It was the deadliest house fire in Memphis, Tennessee’s history, officials said.

The Commercial Appeal reports that family said that the deceased adults were identified as 56-year-old Carol Collier, 27-year-old LaKisha Ward and 61-year-old Eloise Futrell.

Firefighters rushed to the house around 1:30 a.m. after someone inside the home called 911. Firefighters found a smoke detector at the scene, but due to the heavy damage it sustained, they are now unable to determine whether it worked, authorities said. Three adults and four children died at the scene.

Sweat said it’s the most deaths in a single fire in the city since the 1920s.

“She always tried to help everybody”, Whitmore said. Two of those children died, and one remains in extremely critical condition.

The fire apparently began in the living room, but an exact cause has not been determined, Ms Sweat said. ‘We sincerely pray for this family and for the loved ones of this family’.

Sweat said most of the victims died of smoke inhalation, but there were also some burn victims. “It’s a very sad day and we are all in mourning”.

The grandfather of the children who died, Ernest Jett, said the tragedy is “unbelievable” and that the family is “upset”. The fire was brought under control in about 20 minutes.

Sweat went to the site and spoke with firefighters shocked by the loss of life.

Investigators say the house had a security door and bars on windows and the family was unable to open the bars in time and escape.

A fund was created at Regions Bank under the name Toots Family Funds.