BREAKING NEWS

The Philadelphia blaze that killed 12, including eight children, was started by a 5-year-old playing with a lighter near a Christmas tree, officials said.

Tuesday, January 11, 2022 4:20 PM EST

Investigators determined that the child was the only person in the part of the apartment where the fire began, the Philadelphia fire commissioner said.

"We are left with the words of that 5-year-old child, that traumatized 5-year-old child, to help us understand how the lighter and the tree came together with tragic consequences," the commissioner said. "We have disproved any other theories."

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