3 sisters and 9 children, victims of a house fire in Philadelphia

Tragic fire in Philadelphia kills 12, including 8 children 0:43

(CNN) -

Three women who were sisters and all but one of their children have been identified as the victims of the fire in a three-story house converted into apartments in Philadelphia that left 12 people dead, according to their cousins, Frank and Pamela McDonald.

Sisters Rosalee McDonald, 33;

Virginia Thomas, 30, and Quinsha White, 18, died.

Six of McDonald's children and three of Thomas's also died in the fire, according to their family.

The ages of their children were not disclosed.

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Thomas' 5-year-old son survived, his cousin told CNN.

The city's press release initially said that eight children and four adults had died in the fire.

Authorities are also trying to determine whether a lit Christmas tree in the house could have started the fire.

"They were both good people, good mothers and very family oriented," Frank McDonald told CNN.

"Rosalee was one of the best people you could ever meet. She was very supportive, they both were. They came to help me with my business when I opened it."

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Distressed family members said the sisters were very close and had lived together in the apartment since they were teenagers.

The family has started a GoFundMe page to help pay for funeral expenses for several of their family members.

Officials with the Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA), which rents homes to low-income people, said there were 20 people living between the two subdivided units in the converted three-apartment home despite fire officials saying Wednesday that there were 26 .

"I don't know how they could determine that," said Kelvin A. Jeremiah, PHA president and CEO.

"The authorized number of residents would be the people listed in our lease agreements, and in both units the combined total must be 20, six, and 14."

Kelvin A. Jeremiah, President and CEO of the Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA).

In 2011, three people moved to Unit A and six to Unit B. In the four-bedroom unit B, the family grew exponentially between 2011 and 2021, with at least eight children added to the home, Jeremiah said.

Jeremiah described the Unit B family as a multi-generational family consisting of a grandmother, her three daughters, and her sons.

The family wanted to stay together and the PHA has no occupancy limits.

"Our policies and procedures do not evict people because they have children," Jeremiah said.

"We are not eliminating them because their families are growing."

The deadly blaze along with lingering questions about why so many people were living in each unit has put the spotlight on deep issues plaguing America, including the state of affordable housing, class relations and cultural misunderstandings, Jeremiah said. .

When Jeremiah was asked by a reporter why the PHA did not move some of the residents of any of the apartments to another unit, the executive director responded that there was no indication that the family wanted to do that.

"It's a question, perhaps, that particularly resonates with black and brown communities," Jeremiah said, adding that he grew up in a similar unit with 16 people.

Federal agencies are assisting with the investigation

Firefighters responded to the flames around 6:40 am Wednesday and found "intense fire" in the kitchen area in front of the second floor, authorities said.

"There was nothing to slow the movement of the fire," said Philadelphia Deputy Fire Commissioner Craig Murphy.

Murphy told reporters during a news conference Thursday that the Philadelphia Police Department and the Philadelphia Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) were assisting with the investigation.

Neither the PHA nor the fire department wanted to comment on the alleged cause of the fire.

Investigators are trying to determine whether a child under the age of 5 playing with a lighter under a tree was the cause of the deadly fire, according to Jane Roh, a spokeswoman for the Philadelphia district attorney's office.

This is just one line investigators are following, among others, Roh said, and there are currently no plans to press charges against anyone in connection with the deadly blaze.

"It's a very traumatic scene, it's a very complex investigation," said Deputy Fire Chief Dennis Merrigan of the Philadelphia Fire Marshal's Office.

"It's something that would challenge us if we had to do it on our own."

ATF Special Agent in Charge Matthew Varisco said no expense will be spared during the investigation.

Resources to be deployed, Merrigan said, include laser scanners.

"It's like 3D cameras. Unlike taking hundreds and hundreds of still images, we're going to scan the whole room, that way it's almost like virtual reality. We can take that scene later, go back and look at the computer and look at it with extreme. detail, "he said.