Mom's boyfriend put children in bathroom in effort to save them during deadly North Philly fire

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A 6-year-old girl and a woman have died after an early morning house fire in North Philadelphia. An 8-year-old boy and a man were also injured.

Neighbors say the woman and girl were mother and daughter.

The mother's boyfriend put the two children in a bathroom in an effort to try and save them, according to officials.

The fire broke out in the 3000 Block of North 4th Street around 3:40 a.m. on Friday.

"The smoke was just coming out the windows. There was no flames, just smoke, Smoke, smoke, smoke," said neighbor Ana Vasquez.

When crews arrived, they said there were two people trapped on a front porch. Officials said the two people were trying to evacuate but got stuck on the locked porch.

Another neighbor, Nelly Adorno, saw that they were stuck and ran over to help. They had apparently left the keys upstairs, Adorno told Action News through Vasquez, who was translating.

"They were trying to get out badly," Vasquez translated for Adorno. "She was screaming for a hammer or something to break the porch open when the fire department came in."

Firefighters soon learned there were four more people trapped in the basement, which they were able to access through a side alley.

Crews found a 6-year-old girl and an 8-year-old boy in the basement bathroom. Firefighters pulled both children out and gave them CPR but, tragically, the 6-year-old died.

An 8-year-old boy is in critical condition at Saint Christopher's Hospital for Children.

The mother, believed to be in her 40s, was taken to the hospital, where she later died. The mother's boyfriend, who is in his 20s, was also taken to the hospital for injuries.

"It sounds like the one male that was transported to Temple couldn't get them out so [he] put them in the bathroom down there to try to keep them safe. By time we got there, there was so much smoke trapped in that room," said Daniel McCarty, acting executive chief of the Philadelphia Fire Department.

"It's a tragedy," said Vasquez. "They were outside yesterday playing."

Fire officials said it appears the family was living and sleeping in the basement.

The fire was placed under control within 10 minutes.

Officials said there were no working smoke detectors in the home. Investigators are working to determine the cause of the fire.