Three children, ages 5, 6 and 7, and seven adults were killed in a fire in Nescopeck, state police said. Three others managed to escape the inferno, according to first responders. Nescopeck volunteer firefighter Harold Baker told The Citizens’ Voice of Wilkes-Barre that the victims included his son, daughter, father-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, three grandchildren and two other relatives. “When we turned the corner here on Dewey [Street] I knew immediately which house it was looking down the road,” Baker told the paper. “I was in the first engine, and when we pulled up, the whole place was completely involved. We tried to approach them.” Thirteen dogs were also in the home when it went up in flames around 2:30 a.m., Baker told WNEP. It was unclear if any of them survived. Volunteer firefighter Harold Baker said he was related to each of the 10 victims of the massive blaze. YouTube / WNEP Crews work to demolish the home destroyed by a fatal fire in the 700 block of 1st Street in Nescopeck on August 5, 2022. APA Pennsylvania State trooper and members of the Luzerne County Coroner’s Office are at the scene of the fire in Nescopeck on August 5, 2022. AP “The kids that were there and my two kids were just visiting their aunt and uncle. They were the ones who owned the house. They were there to visit and get in the pool and all that,” Baker was quoted as saying. A loud sound or explosion was heard by neighbors, who reported seeing the house rapidly burning. “They’re all dead,” a young man screamed in front of the house, some neighbors reportedly said. A “complex criminal investigation” was underway, Pennsylvania State Police Lt. Derek Felsman said. With AP cables
