Firefighter Arrives to Find 10 Family Members Killed

Fire tore quickly through a house in the wee hours of Friday, killing seven adults and three children and horrifying a volunteer firefighter who arrived to battle the blaze only to discover that the victims were his family, authorities said. Nescopeck Volunteer Fire Co. firefighter Harold Baker said the 10 victims included his son, daughter, father-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, three grandchildren, and two other relatives, the AP reports. Baker said that the address initially given for the call was a neighboring home, but that he realized it was his family's residence as the fire truck approached. "When we turned the corner up here on Dewey (Street) I knew right away what house it was," he said.

The children killed were ages 5, 6, and 7, Pennsylvania State Police said in a news release. "We tried to get in to them," Baker said. A criminal investigation into the fire is underway, authorities said. The blaze was reported around 2:30am. Baker, who was relieved of his firefighting duties because of his relationship to the victims, said 14 people were living in the home. One of them was out delivering newspapers, and three others escaped, he said.

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