9 dead in Memphis house fire

He said it took about 15 minutes for firefighters to extinguish the blaze.

The most deadly fire in Memphis in almost a century ripped through a home in the southern part of the city Monday morning, killing nine people and leaving a single survivor – a boy clinging to his life at a children’s hospital.

According to KHBQ-TV, firefighters rushed to the house around 1:30 a.m. after someone inside the house called 911. The other children died at Le Bonoheur Children’s Hospital. Two other children died after being taken to a hospital.

“In my 27 years with the Memphis Fire Department, I have never seen this amount of victims on one incident”, MFD spokesman Lt. Wayne Cooke told WMC.

The cause of the fire is now under investigation.

The fire only burned 25 percent of the home and the deaths were caused by smoke inhalation, the KHBQ report said.

Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland asked for prayers for family members of the dead.

“It’s a very sad day”, Strickland said. “We are all in mourning”. 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.

Metal bars cover all the windows, and may have prevented the victims escaping, said officials.

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.

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

“This is a loving family”, Wallace said. A red motorized children’s toy truck and a red bicycle with no wheels sat outside the home.

Neighbors said they witnessed similar intense emotions from firefighters.

Felecia Wallace, 34, told the AP that she has known the family since she was in elementary school. “If you needed anything, you could come right here. If you needed a place to sleep, you could come right here”.