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Fairmount house fire that killed 12 is one of the nation’s deadliest in decades

Relatives and friends said victims included two mothers and their children, one possibly as young as 2. Together, they occupied the top unit of a building where four smoke detectors weren't working.

An unidentified woman reacts at the scene of a fire on the 800 block of N. 23rd Street in Philadelphia, Pa. on Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022. Multiple people are dead in the house fire in Philadelphia’s Fairmount section, but police and fire authorities could not confirm how many people were killed in the blaze.
An unidentified woman reacts at the scene of a fire on the 800 block of N. 23rd Street in Philadelphia, Pa. on Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022. Multiple people are dead in the house fire in Philadelphia’s Fairmount section, but police and fire authorities could not confirm how many people were killed in the blaze.Read moreMONICA HERNDON / Staff Photographer