Father & two sons killed in Pa. blaze on Christmas Day
A Pennsylvania father and his two youngest sons died in a roaring Christmas Day fire sparked by their holiday tree, according to officials.
Eric King, 41, and sons Liam, 11, and Patrick, 8, were killed Saturday when their Quakertown home burned down around 1 a.m. Wife Kristen and son Brady were hospitalized with minor burns and released.
Two dogs also died in the fire. “Eric and Kristin were high school sweethearts and the happiest people you will have ever met. They were always smiling and full of positive spirits, you just couldn’t help but to love them. The three boys, Eric and Kristin were all a huge part of the Quakertown Youth Baseball Association and spent their days and nights at the baseball fields,” reads a GoFundMe.
“The Quakertown community will be deeply impacted by this great loss. Please help Brady and Kristin feel the love and support of the community as they deal with healing. …”
Officials believe the family’s Christmas tree caught fire, spreading quickly through their wooden stick-frame and
leaping to the attached house next door, according to the Buck County Courier Times.
The neighbors were uninjured and officials credited the fire wall between the two for giving them time to escape.
Both Liam and Patrick were students at Richland Elementary, in fifth and third grade, respectively, their school district said, calling it “devastating news.” Brady is an eighth-grader at Strayer Middle School.
Investigators are digging through the rubble to determine what caused the fire, but Quakertown Police Chief Scott McElree said it’s clear the dry Christmas tree ignited, sending the flames flying through the house.
“A Christmas tree burns very quickly and very hot,” McElree told the Courier Times. “When trees go dry, it’s a violent and robust source. There is an immense amount of heat and that probably contributed.”