Volunteer firefighter was dad to 3 of 5 kids killed in blaze

ERIE, Pa. — Three of five kids killed in a fire at a home child care center in Pennsylvania were the children of a volunteer firefighter who was responding to another call, an official said Monday.

Luther Jones’ two daughters and a son were trapped in a blaze in the lakeside city of Erie while he was responding to another call just a few blocks away for what turned out to be a malfunctioning alarm, said Lawrence Park Township Volunteer Fire Chief Joe Crotty.

The children haven’t been formally identified, but the Erie Fire Department says the dead range in age from 8 months to 7 years. The owner was hospitalized after the fire Sunday.

Erie fire officials say the children were staying overnight at a house that had been turned into a day care center.

The fire, reported at 1:15 a.m. Sunday, was funneling out of every first-floor window when firefighters arrived, Erie Chief Fire Inspector John Widomski told the Erie Times-News.

He said the blaze appeared to have started in the living room area on the first floor.

The department’s two fire inspectors and three Erie police detectives trained in fire investigations are working to determine the cause.

Authorities did say, however, that the fire might not have been so deadly had the home been equipped with more smoke detectors.

“If there were the proper amount of smoke detectors in this structure, then most, if not all, would have survived,” Erie Fire Chief Guy Santone told CNN.

Only one smoke detector was found in the attic of the clapboard house located about 2 miles from downtown Erie, Santone told CNN and local media outlets.

Valerie Lockett-Slupski, standing across the street from the fire-damaged house, told the newspaper she was the grandmother of four of the children — two boys and two girls — and that they were staying at the home because their parents were working overnight.

“So, we are all at a loss, trying to figure out how this happened,” Lockett-Slupski said.

Erie police detectives said the owner was listed in stable condition.