12-year-old killed rescuing father in house fire: Family

Family members say a Friday morning Norristown house fire claimed the life of a 12-year-old boy who ran into the burning home to try to save his father.

Authorities have not officially identified the one person killed in the blaze, which started just before 9 a.m. inside a three-story home on the 1000 block of Markley Street, but the family claimed 12-year-old Stanford Harling perished in the fire, ABC reported.

The blaze was under control after 10 a.m., CBS stated in a related article, adding that the fire had reached two-alarm status before authorities could control it.

Harling’s grandmother told ABC that the child had escaped the blaze but re-entered in an effort to find his father, who had exited the home by jumping through a window.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation, according to CBS.