The fire was caused by a malfunctioning air conditioning unit power cord, Lt. Wayne Cook of the Memphis Fire Department told ABC News.
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Officials are trying to determine what caused the fire.
Sweat said only about a quarter of the home was damaged by the fire, but heavy smoke contributed to the extent of the casualties.
The Memphis Fire Association posted on its Facebook page: “Please think about this family and the firefighters and police officers who responded to the scene”.
Nine people, including five children, have been confirmed dead in a horrific house fire in South Memphis, Tenn. Sweat said another child is fighting for life. It wasn’t immediately clear if those inside had tried to escape through the windows, Sweat said.
Seven of those 10 family members died in the fire.
According to the Commercial Appeal, family members identified the adult victims as Carol Collier, 56; LaKisha Ward, 27, and Eloise Futrell, 61.
Jett said the children were “smart” and “loved to go to school”.
A fund to help the family has been established at Regions Bank, under the name Toots Family Funds.
Nine people died in a Monday-morning house fire that fire officials are calling Memphis, Tenn.’s deadliest fire in nearly a century, the (Memphis) Commercial Appeal reports.
Two of the victims who were taken to Le Bonheur died, and one was being treated late Monday morning.
The fire started around 1:30 a.m. Monday morning. It then took 15 minutes for fire crews to put out the fire and pull the family of 10 out of the home. While the inside of the home was charred, the house didn’t burn down and fire officials said only part of the house was affected by the fire.
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Sweat said first responders were struggling to cope with the number of lives lost in the blaze, saying it was the deadliest fire in the city since the 1920s. One child who survived is in critical condition, officials said.
