Day Care Fire: Five Children Killed in Pennsylvania

UPDATE (6:50 a.m. ET): Fire officials say the house had only one smoke detector in the attic and it’s unclear if it even worked. (NY Times)

Five children, four of them siblings, were killed in a fire at a Pennsylvania day care center early Sunday morning.

According to Erie Fire Chief Guy Santone, the children ranged between the ages of eight months and seven years old. Their grandmother, Valerie Lockett-Slupski, said the two boys and two girls were staying overnight at the day care while their parents were working.

Lockett-Slupski told the Erie Times-News, “So we are all at a loss, trying to figure out how this happened.”

Details about the fifth child weren’t initially released. Elaine Harris, the owner of the day care, was taken to a local hospital for injuries suffered in the fire. (FOX News)

Hot Takes:

  • What a tragic story.
  • While we don’t know the whole story about the parents, we can assume if they didn’t have to work overnights, those children would still be alive.
  • When did “day care” become “night care”?
  • How could a day care facility in a house have only one smoke detector? Aren’t these facilities inspected?