Family, Community Mourns Six Kids Lost In NE Baltimore Fire

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- The day after six children were killed in a northeast Baltimore house fire, the community is mourning for the family as fire investigators try to figure out how the blaze began.

Friday morning, demolition crews tore down what was left of the charred home.

The bodies of all six children were recovered from the rubble Thursday afternoon.

The deceased include a 9-month-old boy, a 2-year-old boy, 3-year-old twin girls, a 10-year-old girl and an 11-year-old girl.

Four other family members were hospitalized, including the mother, Katie Malone, a 4-year-old girl and a 5-year-old boy.

An 8-year-old little girl who helped get her siblings out the house was hospitalized and released Thursday afternoon, authorities say.

The father of the children was at work when the fire began.

Malone has worked for Congressman Elijah Cummings for more than a decade, who became emotional speaking about the tragedy Thursday.

"It's a very difficult time for our office," he said.

Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh has publicly asked for Baltimore residents to pray for the Malone family.

"I can't imagine the pain of a mother or a father who has to suffer this kind of loss," she said.

Witnesses say the home was engulfed before anyone could even call 911.

The community now in mourning for the six children, who many tried to help save.

Robert Spencer ran across the street, but the blaze blocked him from getting to the children trapped inside.

"The little kids, I heard them yell. I saw the mother come from the flames around there. I thought I was in a movie," said Spencer.

"I spoke with the mother and I asked her, 'Where the other kids at?' and she said 'The other kids is around the side.'You know, I thought all of them was there, but the other ones was upstairs."

Fire and smoke was seen coming from all three floors of the building when crews arrived on the scene, eventually causing the roof to collapse and for each of the floors to collapse down onto the lower floor.

The collapse scenario was "horrendous," according to Roman Clark, of the Baltimore City Fire Department.

"We are all very sad about this whole situation,' says Baltimore City Fire Chief Roman Clark.

In the family's neighborhood, a memorial continues to grow. Even total strangers showed up here to honor the six children who died.

"I said I can hear them, I got to go. It hurt me so bad. It just hurt me man. It hurt me so bad because you hear them," says Spencer.

Investigators have interviewed the 8-year-old daughter, and they're looking into if the home had smoke detectors and whether a space heater was the problem. But the Fire Chief says there is no timetable on when a cause will be determined.

"I pray for dad's strength and the strength of the remaining family," says Baltimore mother Tyleia Reed.

The children's father, William Malone, was at work when the fire happened. He has released a statement to the public:

"My family and I are deeply grateful for the outpouring of love and support we have received in the wake of the tragic fire my wife and children experienced. We continue to receive kind offers from many who wish to help. We ask that monetary donations be sent to the GoFundMe account we have set up at https://www.gofundme.com/malone-housefire. We will have information regarding non-monetary donations at a later date. As you can imagine, this is an extremely difficult time for my family, and I ask that our privacy be respected at this time."

Mourning along side the Malones, are parents who can only imagine the pain.

"I wonder why wasn't I put in a situation to help them? I wish I could have been here to help. I couldn't imagine what they are going through. It's just sad," says Angela Harris.

The  GoFundMe Page has raised almost $200,000 to help the family.

Authorities are looking into the possibility that a space heater ignited. The home did have a working smoke detector.

Anyone who wishes to donate to the Malone Family GoFundMe Page CLICK HERE.

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