Sheriff's deputy sues manufacturers after sons killed in Schwenksville house fire

PHILADELPHIA (FOX 29) - The Lukens family lost everything in a fire that tore through its Schwenksville, Pennsylvania, home in December 2017, including two of its three children -- 11-year-old Bryan Jr., nicknamed LJ, and 6-year-old Parker.

Montgomery County Sheriff's Deputy Bryan Lukens, mother Tracey, and 9-year-old sister Soffia, were also injured in the fire.

Now, the family is filing a lawsuit against electric space-heater manufacturers Kenwood, U.S.A and De'Longhi America, as well as smoke detector manufacturer Kidde.

The family's pets were also killed in the fire, which authorities say was caused by an electrical failure of an extension cord that was plugged into a De'Longhi/Kenwood space heater.

MORE: Sheriff deputy's sons killed in Schwenksville house fire | Schwenksville fire that killed deputy's sons caused by faulty extension cord

According to the complaint, the Schwenksville fire mirrors another Philadelphia-area blaze caused by a Kenwood model oil-filled space heater, which killed two young boys in 2011.

After the 2011 fire, Kenwood began marketing the oil-filled electric space heaters as "SafeHeat," which the complaint says is "a direct contradiction to the reality that the space heaters are actually deadly."

The lawsuit also alleges that the home's Kidde ionization smoke detectors never provided the family with a warning, resulting in the death of its two sons.

The complaint argues that Kidde has known for many years that its ionization smoke detectors fail to provide timely warning during a fire, citing several lawsuits.

In the wake of the Montgomery County fire, a GoFundMe set up on behalf of the Lukens family has raised more than $381,000.