2 dead, officer injured in South Philly house fire

Two people have died in an early morning fire in South Philadelphia.

A police officer who rushed into the home in the city’s Whitman section Thursday was taken by officers to Temple University Hospital with non-life threatening burns.

Executive Fire Chief Clifford Gilliam says firefighters searched the home and found the two residents dead. He says there were no other injuries.

Firefighters say the fire started at 1:24 a.m. and was under control within 20 minutes.

They say the officer arrived first and tried to rescue the people trapped inside, but could not get to them through thick smoke and flames.

Gilliam says firefighters arrived about three minutes later.

He says the home had no smoke detectors. The cause of the fire is under investigation.