Mother, father and 14-year-old son killed after fire rips through Pottstown home
POTTSTOWN, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- A mother, father and their teenage son were all killed in an early morning fire in Pottstown, Montgomery County.
Yellow police tape and a sign that read "evidence" and "ongoing police investigation" could be seen along East Fifth Street on Monday morning.
Those living in the immediate area were already up after the fire erupted sometime after 2 a.m.
The Montgomery County Coroner's Office identified the man as 48-year-old Joseph Norton. Officials said he was pronounced dead at Pottstown Hospital from smoke and soot inhalation.
His 14-year-old son's name was not released.
Late Monday night, Action News learned that the teen's mother also died from her injuries. She has been identified as 47-year-old Bernadette Norton.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
"From our window of our house I could see some flames coming out of there, but there was a lot of smoke. There was a lot of smoke," said neighbor Christopher Azukas.
Azukas said it was his daughter who first caught wind of the fire and alerted a police officer who happened to be in the area.
"She just ran out and flagged him down and said that there was a fire going on in that house over there," he said.
Fire crews were able to save those living in the home attached to the one where the fire started.
Neighbors said the family who died in the blaze mostly kept to themselves, but he saw them interacting frequently in their yard.
"He was heavily into baseball so I'd see him out back sometimes in the backyard, sometimes practicing baseball and stuff like that. I'd see him and his father go off to the games on weekends and everything, but that was really about it," Azukas said.
At this point, fire officials said they have an idea of how the fire may have started but aren't ready to release it.
They did say it does not appear the home had working smoke detectors.
A family member Action News spoke with by phone said they were not ready to comment.
