3 dead, 1 injured in fire in Philadelphia home

Three people died and another was injured in an early morning fire in a Philadelphia home.

Authorities said the blaze was reportd around 5 a.m. Sunday in western Philadelphia neighborhood.

Police say a 70-year-old woman and a 30-year-old man were pronounced dead at the scene. An 84-year-old man was pronounced dead at Presbyterian Hospital.

A 19-year-old man was taken to Lankenau Hospital and was last listed in stable condition. The names of the victims weren’t immediately released.

The cause remains under investigation but police say the fire doesn’t appear suspicious.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that neighbors gathered on the block Sunday, mourning the victims, who they said were a couple and their son, with another relative hospitalized.

“They were like family,” said Gary Ras, 38, a longtime friend. “I wish I could say I knew them longer.”

Tracey Spencer, 29, who lives across the street, described the couple as universally respected, friendly to everyone and helping to run a community gathering space at the end of the block. People even left the man his parking space when it snowed, since he used a walker, she said.

Steve Gilbert, a nephew, said he had made plans to go fishing Sunday with the older son, but instead spent the morning trying to comprehend the sudden loss of him and the family.

“I still can’t really wrap my mind around it,” he said.