A dad and his two sons tragically lost their lives in a house fire on Christmas morning.
Eric King, aged 41, and his children Liam, 11, and Patrick, 8, were killed in a fire thought to have been started by the lights on their Christmas tree.
The blaze had begun to rip through their home in Pennsylvania, US, at approximately 1.20am on December 25, as reported by The Mirror.
Liam and Patrick's mother Kristen managed to flee the scene of the fire with her oldest son Brady, aged 13, but their two dogs did not make it.
Police chief Scott McElree said: “The evidence is very clear that it started in the Christmas tree. It was a real tree."
McElree explained that a Christmas tree "burns very quickly and very hot".
"When the tree goes dry, it's a violent and robust source. There is an immense amount of heat and that probably contributed," he told KYW-TV.
"It was such a hot fire that most of the content where it started is burnt."
The police chief went on to describe the deaths as "horrendous".
The fire destroyed both the Kings' home and the house next door which was attached to it.
Luckily the next door neighbours managed to get out of their home unharmed.
The three deaths from a family well known in their local community and the town's baseball scene have led to an outpouring of grief.
The equivalent of £280,000 has been donated to help the family recover in less than a day.
“Eric and Kristin were high school sweethearts and the happiest people you will have ever met,” organiser Kristin Randazzo wrote on the GoFundMe page.
“They were always smiling and full of positive spirits, you just couldn’t help but to love them. The three boys, Eric and Kristin were all a huge part of the Quakertown Youth Baseball Association and spent their days and nights at the baseball fields.”
The Quakertown school district said the Kings are “the kind of people who make this a special place to live and attend school” in a statement posted to Facebook on Saturday.
Tim Zindorf was one of those who donated money to the family.
He wrote: "Mrs. King, I am so profoundly sorry and heartbroken for you enormous loss. I’m sure there are no words that could possibly relieve you of your pain.
"But, please know that you and your family are loved and that so many people are thinking of you right now."
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