A child and a woman were hospitalized after firefighters were called to a home in Chester, Delaware County, on Wednesday night, according to officials.
Firefighters were dispatched to a home on the 200 block of Wilson Street around 8:42 p.m. on Nov. 19 for reports of a fire with people trapped, Chester Fire Commissioner John-Paul Shirley told NBC10.
Crews found a child on the second floor as well as a woman inside the home, Commissioner Shirley said. They were each taken to nearby hospitals where they were placed in critical condition.
SkyForce10 was over the scene where smoke could be seen coming from a house as firefighters on the ground worked.
The fire was placed under control within the hour, Shirley said.
A neighbor who lives on the block said that a mother and her two children live inside the home.
“I cannot even fathom what the mom is going through,” neighbor Janiece Dee said.
One of the children was able to escape the home and ran to a neighbor’s house.
Dee described seeing the mother with burns to her skin after she tried to save the younger child.
“You could see the flames coming down the steps, like, it was bad,” Dee explained.
Dee said that their block is close-knit and another neighbor had tried to help by running into the home with a fire extinguisher.
The house connected to the one that caught on fire was not damaged, but the homeowner is displaced and receiving assistance from the American Red Cross.
The origin and cause of the fire is under investigation.
This is a developing story. Check back here for updates.
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