BOSTON --
Two sleeping children, ages 9 and 11, were killed after a fire tore through a Dorchester triple decker early Saturday morning.
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The fire broke out in a rear, first floor bedroom at 44 Bellevue St. just after midnight.
According to Chief Kevin MacCurtain of the Boston Fire Department, investigators are looking into whether a space heater may have sparked this fire. Space heaters were found throughout the apartment and in the bedroom where the children were sleeping.
"The message we want to get out is that space heaters in bedrooms are very dangerous. We see this way too often," MacCurtain said.
9-year-old Rebeca Zizi and her 11-year-old brother Rooben Zizi were identified by the department as the victims of the fire. Their mother, father and three siblings managed to escape.
The victims' parents screamed and yelled from a neighboring porch and had to be restrained by EMTs.
They were taken away on stretchers along with the children's grandmother.
A total of 12 people are homeless as a result of the fire and were receiving assistance from the American Red Cross. Two Boston firefighters were treated and released from the hospital after suffering minor burns.
