No smoke detectors found after fire kills 6

No smoke detectors found after fire kills 6

POTTSVILLE, Pa. (AP) — Code enforcement officials in Pottsville say they had recommended smoke detectors for a home where two adults and four children were killed in a Mother’s Day fire.

The Republican-Herald reports fire Chief Todd March says it appears there weren’t any smoke detectors in the home when the fire broke out late Sunday. Investigators haven’t determined a cause.

Pottsville Public Safety Director Mark Atkinson says a deputy code administrator visited the home in December and recommended smoke detectors. March says the smoke alarms might have saved the lives of the victims.

The blaze killed four children between the ages of 2 and 8, along with their father and an aunt. Their mother had been at a neighbor’s house doing laundry. Investigators believe the fire started in the kitchen.