Northeastern Pa. blaze kills firefighter's 10 relatives, 3 of them children

NESCOPECK, Pa. - Fire tore quickly through a house in northeastern Pennsylvania early 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 three children who died were ages 5, 6 and 7, Pennsylvania State Police said in a news release, while the seven adults ranged from the late teens to a 79-year-old man.

Autopsies were planned for this weekend.Harold Baker, a Nescopeck Volunteer Fire Company firefighter, said by phone that the 10 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 summertime activities like going to a swimming pool.He said 13 dogs were also in the two-story home, but didn't say if he knew whether any survived.A preliminary investigation suggests the fire broke out on the front porch at around 2:30 a.m., Luzerne County District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce said Friday evening."The information I have is that the fire started and progressed very quickly, making it very difficult to get out," Sanguedolce said.Three people were able to escape the blaze, he said.

Four state police fire marshals are involved in the investigation and the case won’t become a criminal investigation unless they determine the fire was intentionally set, he said.The three young children who died did not live in the home, he confirmed."Not that certainly any situation is good, but that only exacerbates the tragedy," he said.Nescopeck is a small town on the Susquehanna River, about 20 miles southwest of Wilkes-Barre.