Boy hurt in fire is able to breathe on his own

A 10-year-old boy who barely survived a Strawberry Mansion house fire is off life support and able to breathe on his own, relatives said Friday.

Albert Blassengale is moving his fingers and toes for the first time since the Monday night blaze, according to family members. The Gideon School fifth grader inhaled too much smoke when fire broke out in his rowhouse on the 1800 block of North 27th Street. He was rushed to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia without any vital signs.

His father, Jimmy Blassengale, remains at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, recovering from smoke inhalation he suffered trying to save his son.    - Drew Singer