House blaze kills firefighter’s kin

Fire tore quickly through a house in northeastern Pennsylvania on Friday, killing seven adults and three children and horrifying a volunteer firefighter who arrived to battle the blaze only to discover the victims were his own family, authorities said.

The children who died were ages 5, 6 and 7, Pennsylvania State Police said, while the seven adults ranged from their late teens to a 79-year-old man.

Harold Baker, a volunteer firefighter in the town of Nescopeck, said the victims included his son, daughter, father-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, three grandchildren and two other relatives. He said his two children and the other young victims were visiting their aunt and uncle’s home for swimming and other summertime fun.

“All I wanted to do was go in there and get to these people, my family. That’s all that I was thinking about, getting in to them,” Baker said in a phone interview with the Associated Press.

Baker grabbed a hose and air pack, and started pouring water on the fire, desperate to make his way inside and calling out to his son. His chief realized whose house it was, and fellow firefighters escorted Baker back to the firehouse.

Three people were able to escape the blaze about 20 miles southwest of Wilkes-Barre, which remains under investigation, Luzerne County District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce said.