DUNMORE, Pa. — Update:
A large team of investigators has been at the apartment home along Wheeler Avenue all day Wednesday; they are working to determine what caused the fire that killed Ebony Thompson, her 5-year-old daughter London Session, and 2-year-old daughter Tiara Session.
Investigators did not have much information to share other than this is still a very active investigation and there was a lot of activity at the fire scene today.
Fire Marshals from the State Police, and the city of Scranton's fire inspector were joined by agents from the federal bureau of alcohol, tobacco, and firearms.
Officials tells us the ATF agents were there to assist them in their investigation. They did tell us they believe the fire started in a second-floor apartment that was unoccupied at the time of the fire.
They are still trying to pinpoint exactly where in the apartment it started and how it started.
Prosecutors from the Lackawanna County District Attorney's Office were here throughout the day as well.
This part of Wheeler Avenue is going to stay closed for at least another day while the investigation is going on.
Follow up story:
As night fell, police tape and police officers remained to guard a gutted apartment building that is now part of a fire and death investigation.
That fire broke out inside the building that sits on the corner of Wheeler Avenue and Third Street just before midnight.
Crews had to battle the blaze for hours as flames were seen shooting from its roof.
After it was out, crews discovered the bodies of a mother and two of her children living here.
Neighbors were left in shock and grief.
"I was down there for a while. I went down there for a while this afternoon, it's heartbreaking," said Bob Davis.
Police say 26-year-old Ebony Thompson, her five-year-old daughter, London Session, and her two-year-old daughter, Tiara Session, were killed in the fire.
"Oh, it's sad, especially the children, I mean it's a terrible thing to happen to children," said Sharon LeBoutillier. "My mom was born and raised here in Dunmore, and it's sad to see things happen."
Police say the children's father, 24-year-old Darkell Session, and the couple's daughter, three-year-old Serenity Session, are both being treated at an area hospital.
However, their one-year-old son, Dallas Session, is in critical condition at a hospital in the Lehigh Valley.
Nicole Mercuri came out to watch when the fire first broke out; she knew the outcome might be bad.
"Everything escalated so fast, within 15 minutes everything was up in flames," said Mercuri.
"This is terrible, devastating," said Bob Frick.
Neighbors say they know they'll come together in this time of sadness as they continue to pray for that father and his two young children.
"I'm sure everyone is devastated, but in Dunmore, everybody comes together and helps one another, so I'm sure everybody will help in any way they can," said Julie Frick.
The Lackawanna County District Attorney's Office is the lead agency on the investigation into the deadly fire.
Original story:
Authorities have found three victims inside a burned-out apartment building in Dunmore.
At about 3 p.m., police brought in a cadaver dog to help them with their search, and around 4 p.m., they found the body of the third victim in a collapsed area of the building.
Dunmore police identified the victims as Ebony Thompson, 26, who lived in the home and was the mother of the children pronounced dead at the scene: London Session, a boy age 5, and Tiara Session, a girl age 2.
Darkell Session, 24, the father, and Serenity Session, a girl age 3, are in stable condition at a hospital.
Dallas Session, a boy age 1, was taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital in critical condition.
An excavator pulled delicately at the walls of the burned-out apartment home along 3rd Street in Dunmore. It cleared a path for the coroner and firefighters to recover the bodies of the people who did not survive the flames.
"We have confirmed that three individuals perished in the fire," said Lackawanna County District Attorney Mark Powell.
Two people -- a woman and a child -- were found in the front room of the third-floor apartment. A cadaver dog was called in to search for the remains of the third victim. That child was discovered in a collapsed area in the back of the building.
"You see people coming and going all the time. I didn't know them personally. I knew children lived there and I think that's why it's upsetting me more. Everyone's life is valuable, but knowing children, they had no chance. It's just breaking my heart," Julie Frick said.
Neighbors tell us the heat from the fire was intense and burned for hours overnight. Four tenants were able to get out but were taken to hospitals, one to a burn center in the Lehigh Valley.
Neighbors also say a motorcycle club recently took over the bottom floor and were making renovations. Fire marshals from the state police will work to determine what caused the fire.
A couple who moved out of the third-floor unit last year came by to take stock of their former home.
"If we would have been in there, we would have been dead. We would have been dead. My children, myself and my husband, we would have been dead," said former resident Alicia Farrington.
"There's no smoke alarms in that house, one way in and one way out, and the stairs are small and rickety, they're wooden stairs," said former resident Timothy Mitz.
Dunmore's mayor says the building passed a code inspection earlier this year. Officials from the Lackawanna County district attorney's office were on scene all day.
"We investigate cause and origin of every fire of this nature. When there's a death, we're concerned. And now, we're in the beginning stages of this investigation," Powell said.
Authorities have not released the names or the ages of the victims or the relationship they had to each other. We also do not know the names or conditions of the four people who were able to get out.
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