Father of six children killed in freak Baltimore house fire speaks out to thank everyone who has showed love and support after the tragedy

  • The nine children who were inside the house have been pictured together in a family portrait shared online  
  • Children killed were two boys, ages 9 months and 2 years; 3-year-old twin girls; and two girls, ages 10 and 11 
  • The home belonged to Katie Malone - a veteran staffer with Maryland House Representative Elijah Cummings
  • Congressman Cummings has asked for prayers for Malone, who has worked for him for more than 11 years
  • Malone's distraught husband said their nine children were at home at time of the blaze - he was working
  • He has since spoken out to say he is grateful for all the love and support they have been shown  

The father of six children who perished in a house fire says he is 'deeply grateful' for the love and support he has received following the tragedy.

In a written statement William Malone asked people who wish to donate to send funds through a GoFundMe page that has been set up for the family.

The blaze killed six children and left three others hospitalized Thursday. Their mother, Katie Malone, was also injured. 

Tragic photos of the family have been released as six of the nine siblings were killed in the fire - along with images of the heroic eight-year-old girl who managed to rescue two of her younger siblings and her mother. 

Heartbroken relatives shared images of the children on social media, while also identifying the three survivors.

One of the many photographs posted showed all nine children together on a porch outside a home. It is not clear whether it was the same home in Baltimore that burned down on Thursday. 

Scrolled down for video 

The children are all seen in the photograph. Relatives identified Erin (right, in a pink top) as the hero who saved two of her siblings - Jack (the boy wearing glasses) and Jane (left, also in a pink shirt). The other six children died in the massive blaze

'My staff is a family and this unimaginable tragedy is shocking and heartbreaking to us all,' Cummings (seen right with Malone) said in a statement. Father, William Malone (seen right with his wife, Katie), 36, said in a statement today that he was grateful for all the love and support during this terribly sad time for his family 

A relative said Erin was able to save her younger brother, Jack, and younger sister, Jane.

The names of the other children have not yet been released. A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the family cope with the tragedy. More than $117,000 has been raised so far.

All six bodies have been recovered from the home and everyone has been accounted for, fire department spokesman Chief Roman Clark said earlier on Thursday.

Clark said the presumed dead were two boys, ages nine months and two years; three-year-old twin girls; and two girls, ages 10 and 11.

Seven of the nine children who were in the home at the time of the fire are pictured. This photograph was shared on an online fundraising page. The three middle children, Erin, Jane, and Jack (left-to-right) are the only ones who survived the blaze

Firefighters look on after extinguishing the flames that engulfed a three-story house (above) in northeast Baltimore early Thursday

Rep. Elijah Cummings (left) said in a statement Thursday that the fire involved Katie Malone (right), who has worked as a special assistant in his Catonsville office for nearly 11 years

Firefighters found heavy flames coming from all three floors of the home when they answered the call about 12:30am Thursday

The chief added investigators at the scene had initially been delayed in their search for clues as workers were recovering the last body.

While they have admitted it is too early to say, fire chiefs have said that the inferno could have been started by a simple space heater used to keep the chilling winter weather at bay.

Police and fire services have said the home did had a space heater in it, but also said it is not known if that contributed to the blaze. 

Firefighters encountered heavy flames coming from all three floors of the home when they answered the call about 12:30 a.m. Thursday, and they attacked the blaze from outside, Clark said. The third floor collapsed and the second floor partially collapsed.

The children's mother and two boys, ages 4 and 5, are in critical condition at a hospital. Clark said an 8-year-old girl who helped rescue her younger brothers was in 'good shape.'

Father William Malone said all nine are his children with Katie Malone, who's a staff member for Rep. Elijah Cummings' district office.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. It took firefighters time before they were able to enter the smoldering building

The lengthy recovery process is complicated by the fact that the roof caved in due to the blaze, according to fire officials

A Baltimore Fire Department spokesperson said the investigations is 'going to be a very, very slow process' . 'We're trying not to disturb any of the remains. So it's going to be what we call a hand dig.' Fire crews are seen above sifting through the burnt wreckage

Firefighters are seen above recovering what appears to be the body of one of the children who died in the fire

Roman Clark, a fire department spokesperson, said the fire left the house 'torn apart' and there is no chance that the children survived the inferno

Mr Malone said he was not home at the time of the fire because he was working at a restaurant.

He also said one of the three children taken to the hospital after the blaze has since been released.

'I'm still in shock to be honest,' the shattered father said, when he was reached by phone at a relative's home. 

Mr Malone said he doesn't know what may have caused the fire.

Meanwhile, Cummings said Mrs Malone has worked as a special assistant in his Catonsville office for nearly 11 years.

When Niles Ford (left), the head of the fire department, arrived at the scene, he saw three of his firemen on bended knee in front of the home - resigned to the fact that there was nothing they could do to help the children

Investigators are trying to determine whether the fire was caused by a faulty space heater, according to a local television report

Neighbor Robert Spencer (above), 51, said he was having nightmares hearing the screams of the children as they were trapped by the flames inside the home

The fire turned the home of Katie Malone and her family into a burned-out shell. A firetruck's torch is shone on the building from a crane in this photo  

Baltimore City firefighters remained on the scene early on Thursday morning as they surveyed the wreckage of the home on Springwood Avenue in northeast Baltimore

'My staff is a family and this unimaginable tragedy is shocking and heartbreaking to us all. I again ask for your prayers,' Cummings said in a statement.

Neighbor Robert Spencer said he looked out his window to see the house across the street in flames.

'The flames was coming out on every side, and that's when the mother was coming around the side of the house,' Spencer said.

'I heard the kids crying. My daughter heard them. They said: 'Help, help,' and you know, couldn't save them, couldn't save them,' he said. 'There was just too much fire there.'

Two children injured by the fire that destroyed a house in northeast Baltimore after midnight on Thursday are wheeled out on a gurney by Baltimore firefighters in this photo

The mayor of Baltimore, Catherine Pugh (right), and Fire Chief Niles Ford (left) visited the scene of the fire. In initial remarks to the press, Pugh asked for people to pray for the victims of the blaze

Michael Johnson, 55, who lives a block away and can see the house from his home, described it as a complete inferno. 

'Fire was coming out of every window, and as they sprayed it, it seemed like the fire was fighting back or something. It just kept coming and coming and coming. Fire was actually coming out of the sides of the house. I've never seen anything like that in my life,' Johnson said.

Johnson, who didn't know the family, added that he was praying for the people inside.

'It was just so intense,' he said. 'I didn't think anyone would be able to survive it at all.'

Taken to safety: A woman who also escaped the house which was engulfed by flames after midnight on Thursday is evacuated from the scene by firefighters

Interceding for help: Amy Stratton (left), who also works for Cummings, posted a note on her Facebook page asking people to pray for Malone (right)

FULL STATEMENT FROM REP. ELIJAH CUMMINGS 

I am asking that our entire community pray for my staff member, Katie Malone, and her young family.

Katie has worked as a Special Assistant in my Catonsville office for nearly 11 years where she dutifully serves my constituents in the areas of immigration, postal services, and the military, including Service Academy nominations.

I am grateful to the Baltimore City Fire Department and all those who responded quickly to the devastating fire.

My staff is a family and this unimaginable tragedy is shocking and heartbreaking to us all. I again ask for your prayers.

WJZ-TV showed two small children sitting up as they were wheeled away on a stretcher and a woman on a stretcher with an oxygen mask over her face. 

Images from the scene show firefighters dousing the charred shell of the first two stories of the home between two other large three story single-family homes. 

The value of the three-story home is estimated at $185,000. 

Cleanup and recovery: Fire officials appraoch the scene of the fire in this photo taken on Thursday 

Inferno: The woman and two of the children are in critical condition and the third child is in serious condition

Smoke: Images from the scene show firefighters dousing the charred shell of the first two storeys of the home which is located between two other large three storey single-family homes

Raging: Fire officials said that the third floor collapsed and the second floor partially collapsed

The comments below have not been moderated.

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

We are no longer accepting comments on this article.

Who is this week's top commenter? Find out now