9 dead in early morning Memphis house fire

MEMPHIS, TN -- 9:25 a.m.

Fire officials in Tennessee say nine people - four adults and five children - have died after a blaze burned a home in Memphis.

Memphis Fire Director Gina Sweat said four adults and three children died at the scene early Monday. Two other children died after being taken to Le Bonheur Children's Hospital in extremely critical condition. Sweat said another child is fighting for life.

Fire Department Lt. Wayne Cook said the first firefighters who arrived at the scene about 1:30 a.m. saw smoking coming out of the one-story home where a family of 10 lived. He said it took about 15 minutes for firefighters to extinguish the blaze.

Officials are trying to determine what caused the fire.

Sweat said it's the most deaths in a single fire in the city since the 1920s.

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9:15 a.m.

Memphis Fire Director Gina Sweat says 9 people are dead after an early morning house fire.

She says one child is fighting for life in a hospital.

Fire officials had said earlier that at least seven people perished after a blaze enveloped the home early Monday.

Fire Department Lt. Wayne Cooke said at the time that four adults and three children were dead and at least three other children were taken to Le Bonheur Children's Hospital in "extremely critical condition."

Cook said the first firefighters who arrived at the scene about 1:30 a.m. saw smoking coming out of the one-story home where a family of 10 lived. It took about 15 minutes for firefighters to extinguish the blaze.

Officials are trying to determine what caused the fire.

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8:50 a.m.

Fire officials in Tennessee say at least seven people are dead after a blaze enveloped a home in Memphis.

Fire Department Lt. Wayne Cooke says four adults and three children died at the scene early Monday and at least three other children were taken to Le Bonheur Children's Hospital in "extremely critical condition."

Cook said the first firefighters who arrived at the scene about 1:30 a.m. saw smoking coming out of the one-story home where a family of 10 lived. It took about 15 minutes for firefighters to extinguish the blaze.

Officials are trying to determine what caused the fire.

Cook, a longtime firefighter, said he's never seen that many victims in one location.