Elderly man dies in Kensington house fire as woman rescued from roof

PHILADELPHIA - A devastating house fire claimed the life of an elderly man early Monday morning as officials urge residents to check their smoke alarms.

What we know:

Within three minutes, crews arrived to find smoke and flames coming from a home on the 900 block of East Schiller Street in Kensington. They said a resident was standing on the roof outside the second-floor windows. 

They were able to rescue a woman from a porch roof outside the home. The woman, identified by family as 71-year-old Lois Graham, is being treated for smoke inhalation.

However, once inside, they found an elderly man, who the family identified as Lois' 63-year-old brother Gregory, dead on the first floor near the door.

Officials say he lived in the home, which did not have any working smoke detectors.

What we don't know:

The cause of the fire is still unknown.

What they're saying:

The family says Lois believed her brother Gregory, also known as Lucky, would follow her onto the roof, but he ultimately did not make it. 

FOX 29's Jeff Cole spoke to family members and neighbors in the area about the tragic incident. 

"She said she thought he was behind her but must have said I can go through the front door," said Margret Moody, Lois' sister. "He went back downstairs. That’s how he got caught up."

Jeff asked, "She told him to follow her on to the roof?" 

"She did. He went down and didn’t make it," Moody responded.

Moody shared that she also lived in the home. "All my stuff is done gone. Everything! I don’t have nothing," she said. 

"Unfortunately, people are under the impression that this tragedy will not strike them for that reason they fail to make it a priority," said Charles Walker, Assistant Chief Philadelphia Fire Department. 

This is the third fatal fire over the past two weeks, according to fire officials, who want to remind residents about the importance of smoke detectors.

"We would like to stress that you make sure you have working smoke alarms in your home. If you don't, call 311, and we'll come out to install and check and make sure that you have the proper things in your home."

"It was horrible smoke, fire everybody woke up hysterical. It’s just sad from the families. I feel very bad for them," said one neighbor. 

"This was a tight knit family. They looked out for one another on our block. We’re like a family on this block," said Senacca Goode, another neighbor.