Boy, 2, Dies, Bringing Fire Toll to 7

Authorities say a 2-year-old boy critically injured in a Lancaster, Pa. house fire has died, bringing the toll from the blaze to seven.

Spokesman Grant Gegwich of Crozer Chester Medical Center says 2-year-old Cordail Kuhns was pronounced dead at about 4 p.m. Saturday at the hospital.

Two other victims, 41-year-old Crystal Kuhns and her 4-year-old daughter, Mickey, died earlier after being taken to the same hospital.

The fire also killed 51-year-old David Kuhns, 8-year-old Skylar Kuhns, and 6-year-old Shawn Kuhns, along with 65-year-old homeowner Jimmie Moore.

Fire officials said the blaze started in the kitchen of a three-story duplex in Lancaster at about 3 a.m. Thursday after frozen potatoes were left in the oven.

One woman who escaped reportedly gave birth to a girl hours after fleeing for her life.

The fire started in the kitchen of a three-story duplex at about 3 a.m. Thursday after frozen potatoes were left in the oven, fire officials said.
 
Fourteen members of several families lived in the home, which did not have smoke detectors, fire Chief Timothy Gregg said.
 
One victim, Jimmie Moore, 65, was described by neighbors and relatives as a generous man and Vietnam War veteran who let another family move in after they lost their own housing.
 
The Lancaster newspaper reported Friday that Moore's pregnant daughter was among those who fled the flames. Martha Moore, 22, escaped through a second-floor window and shuffled across the roof to a neighbor's house.
 
Nearly eight months pregnant, she had an emergency cesarean section Thursday morning. Her daughter, Zaliah, weighed 4 pounds, 5 ounces, the newspaper reported.
 
Another person was admitted in serious condition, a nursing supervisor at Lancaster General Hospital said. Several others were treated and released.
 
Lancaster County coroner Dr. Stephen Diamantoni said autopsies on the first four victims were scheduled for Friday. 
 
 

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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