A massive house fire in Philadelphia killed 13 people, including seven kids, on Wednesday, according to fire officials.   

Philadelphia’s public housing authority owned the row homes, NBC Philadelphia reported.   

“This is without a doubt one of the most tragic days in our city’s history, the loss of so many people in such a tragic way,” Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said, according to the news station.   

Firefighters raced to a three-story row house around 6:40 a.m. on Wednesday where they saw flames emerging from the second-floor windows, HuffPost reported.   

The city’s fire department tweeted that it took almost an hour for firefighters to get the fire under control.   

One of the firefighters on the scene said this was one of the worst fires he’s ever seen in his 35-year career.   

According to Philadelphia 10, eight people managed to escape the burning building. Around 26 people lived in the duplex, with 18 in one unit, something Philadelphia Fire Department Deputy Commissioner Craig Murphy said was a “tremendous amount of people.”   

“It was just such a shocking moment,” Murphy said.   

Investigators are looking into the cause of the fire and why it spread so quickly.   

According to Philadelphia Housing Authority President & CEO Kelvin A. Jeremiah, the property was last inspected in May 2021 and all smoke detectors were operational.   

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