Siblings killed in double-fatal fire in Everett

EVERETT, Mass. -- An elderly woman and her brother were killed in a fire at a multi-family home in Everett on Wednesday night.

Fire officials determined Thursday morning that a tenant had accidentally tossed a cigarette onto the front porch, consequently sparking the two-alarm fire at the home on Blake Terrace at around 9:30 p.m.

“He tried to flick the cigarette out the window. There was papers and trash on the front porch, and it caused that to go on fire,” said Deputy Chief Bill Humphries of the Everett Fire Department.

The deaths were the first fire fatalities in Everett in a decade.

Two elderly siblings, 80-year-old Edna Power and 76-year-old Edward Power, were living on the second floor. Firefighters tried to get Edward out of the house, but he went back to attempt to save his sister.

"There was a state trooper on scene who attempted to get a gentleman on the second floor out of the building, but unfortunately, he ran back in... The lady on the second floor was bedridden, she didn't make it out," said Dep. Cheif Humphries.

The incident has left neighbors, like Evelyn Frautten, heartbroken.

"They're just good people. It's so sad… He couldn’t have carried her himself," she said.

Shannon Donnelly and her father had tried to help.

“We did break the windows. We got in the back, but we couldn’t see anything. It’s horrible,” she said.

Everett Mayor Carlo Demaria, who knew the pair as well, says he is shaken.

“Most people when they hear news like this, to hear that two people were trapped in the house like this, to lose their life, it’s unimaginable,” he said.

There were several people living on the first floor, who were able to make it out of the building safely.

Everett police have launched an investigation to explore whether charges will be filed in connection with the double-fatal fire.

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