A 7-year-old girl who died Tuesday after a fire in a Northwest D.C. row house has been identified.
Firefighters found Karen Thomas, of Northwest D.C., badly injured after they extinguished the fire at a house in the 700 block of Quebec Place NW. D.C. police released her name on Wednesday.
Karen was rushed to a hospital in critical condition. She died a short time later from her injuries, D.C. Fire Chief John Donnelly said.
"These are very sad days when we lose a child to fire," Donnelly said Tuesday.
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The girl was among several children at the home when the fire tore through the second floor, fire officials said Wednesday. Karen was found unconscious on the third floor.
First responders were called to the blaze around 3:10 p.m. They arrived four minutes later. It took crews around eight minutes to extinguish the blaze, and two minutes after that, firefighters pulled Karen out of the house, Donnelly said.
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Donnelly said the tragedy could have been worse had it not been for the working smoke detectors and fire alarms.
There were adults inside the home at the time who helped children get out before the fire department arrived, Donnelly said.
Photos show smoke pouring out of a second-floor window.
Fire officials are still investigating the cause of the blaze.
Karen was a third grade student at nearby Raymond Elementary School. Some of her siblings were on their way home from school when the fire started.
Stay with NBC Washington for more details on this developing story.
