4:30 p.m. A memorial fund has been established at Wells Fargo Bank for the family of the two children who died this morning in a south Sacramento house fire.
At a news conference, this afternoon, Sacramento City Councilman Larry Carr said four adults and one child escaped the fire wearing only their pajamas and "have absolutely nothing." Carr also said city agencies are working to help the family with housing.
The Sacramento Fire Department says one of its firefighters was burned by the fire as he tried to enter the home. After the two deceased children were discovered upstairs, firefighters were debriefed and offered counseling.
The department is urging people to check their smoke detectors and to practice their evacuation plans. It has not been determined whether there was a working smoke detector in the home.
The Red Cross is installing 1,000 smoke detectors in 17 neighborhoods this weekend as part of a fire safety campaign that was already planned.
7:26 a.m.: A 6-year-old boy and an 11-year-old girl died in a house fire despite firefighter efforts to rescue them.
The fire started just after 2:30 a.m. Tuesday. Five people made it out safely.
When they arrived, crews found fire furiously burning inside the home and smoke pouring from windows and the front door.
Firefighter Chris Harvey says crews could not reach the children upstairs because fire had eaten away the stairwell. Crews used ladders to enter the home upstairs and found the bodies.
Officials say one firefighter was injured and suffered from first and second-degree burns to the neck and ears. The firefighter was taken to the UC Davis Burn Unit for evaluation.
The Sacramento Bee posted video of the fire in the two-story house in the Meadowview neighborhood. The cause of the fire is unknown
Original Post: The Sacramento Fire Department says two children died and one firefighter was injured in a house fire early Tuesday.
The two-story home in the Meadowview neighborhood caught on fire at about 2:30 a.m. in the 2200 block of Babette Street.
Four people escaped. But two children, a six-year old boy and an 11 year-old girl, died.
Firefighters say when they got inside the home, the interior stairwell had already burned through.
Officials say one firefighter was injured and suffered from first and second-degree burns to the neck and ears. The firefighter was taken to the UC Davis Burn Unit for evaluation.
Investigators are still trying to find out what caused the fire.
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