Philadelphia house fire injures at least 12 people, two critically

A fire that burned through a twin house in Philadelphia’s Logan section early Tuesday injured at least 12 people, two of them critically, officials said.

The injured included children, among them a 12-year-old boy who reportedly suffered burns on more than 30 percent of his body.

Fire Commissioner Adam Thiel told reporters at the scene that firefighters confronted a “chaotic” situation when they arrived about 4:30 a.m. on the 4900 block of North 12th Street, with victims outside in the front and back of the building as well inside while a heavy fire raged on the first floor.

Some of the injured were hurt jumping from upper floors of the three-story building to escape the flames, officials said.

Thiel said the relationships, if any, among the victims were not immediately known. He said the building had been divided into multiple units. He said he was hopeful all of the victims would survive.

Parts of the interior had collapsed and Thiel said firefighters faced “challenging and dangerous conditions” searching the building after the fire was out. The search did not find any other victims.

It took firefighters about 45 minutes to bring the fire under control, the commissioner said.

Fire marshals will investigate to determine the cause of the blaze.