Woman, 2 children, die in North Philly house fire, officials say

A woman and two children died in an overnight house fire in North Philadelphia, officials said on Tuesday morning.

According to Philadelphia Fire Department Deputy Chief Frank Hannan, the incident began at about 1 a.m. at a home along the 3400 block of North Hope Street in North Philadelphia.

Upon arrival, he said, firefighters found “heavy smoke conditions” at the property caused by a fire on the first floor in the rear of the home.

Officials later shared that fire personnel located an active fire in the kitchen area.

After crews entered the property and conducted a search and rescue operation, officials said they found three people — a 46-year-old woman, later identified as Nidre Annette Ayala, 6-year-old Kataleya Garcia and her 5-year-old brother Sebastian Rodriguez-DeJesus.

Ayala was found unresponsive on the stairs leading to the second floor and the two children were found unresponsive in an upstairs bedroom with severe burns, officials said.

All three were taken to nearby hospitals where, officials said, they were pronounced.

The fire was brought under control by about 1:21 a.m., officials said.

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No working fire alarms were found in the building, Hannan said.

Hannan did not say how the three people died, nor what may have caused the fire.

In a morning update with members of the press, Philadelphia Fire Department Commissioner Jeffrey Thompson urged residents to ensure they have working fire alarms in their homes.

“We have not located any working smoke alarms and there were no reports of a smoke alert sounding,” he said.

Also, when asked about the relationship between the three victims, Hannan said firefighters did not immediately know how the three victims were related.

A man who spoke to NBC10’s Lili Zheng, at the scene, claimed to be related to the family and said that, he believed the children were being babysat by a family member while their mother was at work when the fire erupted.

Thompson, too, said he was unsure of the relationship between the victims. He said the woman who was killed was not the children’s mother as their mother was believed to be at the hospital.

A neighbor, who didn’t want to be identified, tells NBC10 the kids’ mother frantically came home dressed in scrubs.

“Mom was out working last night, and she actually arrived on the scene screaming and yelling ‘Where’s my kids.’ So that was heartbreaking,” the neighbor shared.

Fire officials report no initial indication of arson, officials said.

The fire commissioner reintegrated that investigators still haven’t determined how the fire began, but an investigation is ongoing.

Also, contacted on Tuesday, representatives from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said they were assisting in this investigation.

While the investigation continues into the cause of the fire, the North Philadelphia block is grieving the sudden loss of three.

Neighbor Alicia Castillo was emotional as she walked away from her Hope Street home with her young kids.

“I was crying, my daughter was crying too. It’s so sad,” said Castillo.

This is a breaking news story. It will be updated as new information becomes available.