At least 13 people killed —including 7 kids — in Philadelphia row house fire: reports

At least 13 people — including seven children — were killed Wednesday when a fire tore through a city-owned row home in Philadelphia and the smoke detectors failed to go off.

Firefighters responded about 6:30 a.m. to the building on North 23rd Street in the Fairmount neighborhood, where they found heavy flames coming from the second floor of the three-story building, fire officials said at a press conference.

The fire department was able to transport two occupants to the hospital, one to a children’s hospital and another to Temple University’s hospital.

“This is without a doubt one of the most tragic days in our city’s history,” Mayor Jim Kenney, who is the son of a firefighter, said at the press conference. “Please keep all these folks, and especially these children, in your prayers. Losing so many kids is just devastating.”