An autopsy for the 13-year-old boy killed in a Kingston fire was riled accidental and determined the cause of death was “smoke inhalation and thermal injuries” resulting from the fire, according to a Saturday news release from Lehigh County Coroner Daniel A. Buglio.
The autopsy was completed at the Lehigh County Coroner’s Office & Forensic Center on Saturday.
The fire that killed the boy and his 11-year-old brother, who have not been publicly identified, started Wednesday at their double-block home in Kingston on North Welles Avenue at approximately 11:07 p.m., according to the Lehigh County Coroner’s Office. It originated on the first floor of the residence and spread rapidly, per firefighters’ accounts, soon consuming both the boys’ home and the home directly adjacent. Another nearby home was also damaged, while the fire burned four vehicles parked outside.
The father and 7-year-old sister of the boys jumped out of a second-floor bedroom window to escape the fire. The boys’ mother, who had been on the first floor asleep, also escaped, as did the adjacent home’s single occupant.
Firefighters responding to the scene pulled the brothers out of the second floor of the home. The 13-year-old boy was initially taken to Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center in Plains Twp. before being flown to Lehigh Valley Hospital–Cedar Crest in Allentown on Thursday. According to a Lehigh County Coroner’s Office news release issued Friday, he was pronounced dead Thursday at 9:31 p.m. The 11-year-old boy died at the scene.
Buglio expressed his sympathies for those affected by the fire in his Friday news release. He said he and his colleagues were extending their “deepest condolences” to the boys’ surviving family and the Kingston community.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by this tragic loss,” Buglio said.
Both boys were students at the Wyoming Valley West School District. On Friday, the school district posted a statement to its website mourning the late students and detailing what additional counseling resources will be made available to the Valley West community.
The Kingston Municipal Police Department has organized a fundraiser for the boys’ family, the details of which are described on the Kingston police Facebook page.
Wyoming Valley West is also directing people to donate to a GoFundMe page for the family, which is stated to have been created by an aunt of the boys and is titled “Kingston House Fire.” At press time, the GoFundMe drive had collected $31,025 from 491 donations.
Kingston police, the Kingston Forty-Fort Fire Department, the Lehigh County Coroner’s Office, and the Pennsylvania State Police are investigating the fire. Buglio, in the Lehigh County Coroner’s Office news release issued Saturday, said further information about the investigation will not be released at this time.