Philadelphia fire department probes deadly fire that tore through a duplex home

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Philadelphia fire department probes deadly fire that tore through a duplex home

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At least 12 people were killed, including eight children, in a fire at a Philadelphia row house. Investigators² are looking for a cause.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Philadelphia's fire department is investigating the fire that killed at least 12 people inside an apartment building Wednesday. Eight were children. Here's Aaron Moselle of WHYY.

AARON MOSELLE, BYLINE³: Smoke lingered in the air as Reggie Johnson stood, nearly speechless, at the end of North 23rd Street, not far from downtown. In the distance, police and firefighters were removing victims from the burned-out row house. Several of them were Johnson's relatives.

REGGIE JOHNSON: I feel mad. I feel like I - helpless. I feel like I don't have nothing to - I wish I had something to offer the rest of them. I don't have nothing.

MOSELLE: Johnson says his family is devastated⁴ by the loss of their young relatives.

JOHNSON: There was some hope in the generation that they was raising. They was raising them real good in a real good upbringing way, you know? The kids was going to take the family somewhere else. This was going to change the family.

MOSELLE: Investigators are still trying to figure out what caused the fire that also sent one adult and a child to local hospitals for treatment. Deputy Fire Commissioner⁵ Craig Murphy says the three-story row house had four smoke detectors⁶, but that none of them went off before flames ripped through the duplex. The building is owned by the Philadelphia Housing Authority.

CRAIG MURPHY: It was terrible. I've been around for 30, 35 years now, and this is probably one of the worst fires I've ever been to.

MOSELLE: Murphy says the fire moved quickly through the building.

MURPHY: The only thing that was slowing that fire down from moving was - there was nothing slowing that fire down from moving. That fire was moving.

MOSELLE: Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney, whose father was a firefighter, was visibly shaken as he spoke⁷ to reporters.

JIM KENNEY: I don't have much more to say than please keep all these folks and especially these children in your prayers. Losing so many kids is just devastating⁸.

MOSELLE: Another relative of the victims is Isaiah Brown. He says the fire has left him feeling broken.

ISAIAH BROWN: They're babies. Babies, man. Young children, you know what I'm saying? They didn't even get to experience life.

MOSELLE: The Philadelphia Housing Authority says it last inspected the building in May of 2021. The agency says all smoke detectors were working at that time.

For NPR News, I'm Aaron Moselle in Philadelphia.

(SOUNDBITE OF HERMANOS GUTIERREZ'S "DOLORES")

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

5 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

6 detectors   

探测器( detector的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The report advocated that all buildings be fitted with smoke detectors. 报告主张所有的建筑物都应安装烟火探测器。
• This is heady wine for experimenters using these neutrino detectors. 对于使用中微子探测器的实验工作者，这是令人兴奋的美酒。 来自英汉非文学 - 科技

7 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

8 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。