STEELTON, Pa. — Four people are dead after a fire in Steelton.
The fire broke out some time before 8 a.m. on Aug. 6 along South Front Street.
Dauphin County Coroner Graham Hetrick has confirmed that two adult males and two children succumbed to their injuries and were pronounced dead at the scene.
Steelton Borough Police, a Pennsylvania State Police fire marshal, District Attorney Fran Chardo’s Office, Dauphin County’s fire investigation team, and regional firefighters are all investigating the incident.
Officials say that access to South Front Street from Highspire will be shut down until further notice, and citizens are asked to avoid the area while fire crews respond to the scene.
“They are an amazing family and this is a tragedy that I don’t know how long it will take them to overcome, how long it will take the neighborhood to overcome," Celestine Afif, an eyewitness said.
Celestine Afif was at a gas station nearby when she saw smoke coming from the front of “Raja Mart” on South Front Street in Steelton just after 6 a.m.
Afif says she hopped out of the car and immediately started ringing the bell and banging on the doors and windows.
“Screaming Raja, Raja, Raja," Afif said.
The fire was in an apartment above the convenience store, which is on the first floor.
For her, this place was more than just a building.
“Everyone loved this place...it’s just tragic," Afif said.
Latoya Slaughter who lives right in front of the building says she heard screaming coming from outside.
“I ran outside to see that fire was outside coming through the windows, coming out of the side of the building," she said.
The names of the victims are not being released until their next of kin is notified.
“Right now it is going to be an active investigation to rule out anything that was criminal in nature," Slaughter said.
For her, the events of today will be hard to erase.
“From seeing everything and hearing everything and just knowing that people lost their lives in this tragic way, is really sad," she said.