The Latest on a fatal house fire in Memphis (all times local):
6 p.m.
Fire officials now say that three adults and six children have died in a house fire in Memphis.
On Monday morning, Memphis Fire Director Gina Sweat told reporters at a news conference that four adults and five children died in the fire at a home in south Memphis.
In a Monday afternoon news release, the Memphis Fire Department corrected the breakdown of the dead to three adults and six children. Officials say a 10th victim, a child, is fighting for life at a hospital.
Officials say the fire was caused by an electrical malfunction in an air conditioning unit’s power cord in the living room.
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5 p.m.
Officials say a house fire in south Memphis that resulted in the death of three adults and six children was caused by an electrical malfunction in an air conditioning unit’s power cord in the living room.
In a news release, the Memphis Fire Department also said the house did have a working smoke alarm.
Memphis Fire Director Gina Sweat initially said four adults and three children died at the scene early Monday. The fire department later corrected the breakdown of those who died at the scene to three adults and four children.
Two other children died after being taken to a hospital in extremely critical condition. Sweat said another child is fighting for life.
Officials said the fire caused about $8,000 in damage to the house and another $15,000 to the contents inside the home. The fire was brought under control in about 20 minutes.
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11:50 a.m.
Relatives and friends of nine people killed in a house fire in Memphis are mourning the loss of their loved ones and asking people to donate to a fund to help with funeral costs and other expenses.
People who knew the victims hugged each other and wept and prayed together outside the house Monday. The victims weren’t immediately identified by authorities.
Thirty-four year-old Felecia Wallace says she has known the family that lived in the house since she was in elementary school. She said she once needed bus fare to get to work and someone who lived in the house just gave it to her. Wallace says that if someone needed a meal or a place to sleep, residents of the house would gladly help out.
A fund to help the family has been established at Regions Bank, under the name Toots Family Funds.
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9:25 a.m.
Fire officials in Tennessee say nine people — three adults and six children — have died after a blaze burned a home in Memphis.
Memphis Fire Director Gina Sweat initially said four adults and three children died at the scene early Monday.
The fire department later corrected the breakdown of those who died at the scene to three adults and four children. Two other children died after being taken to Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital in extremely critical condition. Sweat said another child is fighting for life.
Fire Department Lt. Wayne Cook said the first firefighters who arrived at the scene about 1:30 a.m. saw smoking coming out of the one-story home where a family of 10 lived. He said it took about 15 minutes for firefighters to extinguish the blaze.
Officials are trying to determine what caused the fire.
Sweat said it’s the most deaths in a single fire in the city since the 1920s.
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9:15 a.m.
Memphis Fire Director Gina Sweat says 9 people are dead after an early morning house fire.
She says one child is fighting for life in a hospital.
Fire officials had said earlier that at least seven people perished after a blaze enveloped the home early Monday.
Fire Department Lt. Wayne Cooke said at the time that four adults and three children were dead and at least three other children were taken to Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital in “extremely critical condition.”
Cook said the first firefighters who arrived at the scene about 1:30 a.m. saw smoking coming out of the one-story home where a family of 10 lived. It took about 15 minutes for firefighters to extinguish the blaze.
Officials are trying to determine what caused the fire.
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8:50 a.m.
Fire officials in Tennessee say at least seven people are dead after a blaze enveloped a home in Memphis.
Fire Department Lt. Wayne Cooke says four adults and three children died at the scene early Monday and at least three other children were taken to Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital in “extremely critical condition.”
Cook said the first firefighters who arrived at the scene about 1:30 a.m. saw smoking coming out of the one-story home where a family of 10 lived. It took about 15 minutes for firefighters to extinguish the blaze.
Officials are trying to determine what caused the fire.
Cook, a longtime firefighter, said he’s never seen that many victims in one location.
