Insets: Ashley Thompson with her two children (GoFundMe). Background: Firefighters responding to the fire at the Thompson residence in Philadelphia’s Strawberry Mansion area on Friday, June 13, 2025 (WTXF).
A tragic fire in Philadelphia resulted in the deaths of a pregnant mother and her two children. Authorities concluded that the fire was intentionally started. Witnesses and family members described the fire as “devastating” and recalled how rapidly it spread early Friday, leading to a desperate escape by the children’s grandmother, who leaped from a window holding a “baby in her arms.”
“We looked out the window, it was engulfed in flames,” recounted neighbor Yessenia Nieves to local NBC affiliate WCAU while discussing the early morning blaze in Philadelphia’s Strawberry Mansion neighborhood. The fire claimed the lives of Ashley Thompson and her children, six-year-olds Alayna and Asad. According to the local Fox affiliate WTXF, Thompson was seven months pregnant, as confirmed by interviews with her family.
At least one person has been taken into custody for further questioning, according to WTXF, but charges have not been filed.
“I couldn’t even imagine in my mind who would want to hurt three babies and a pregnant girl,” said Chyna, a relative and roommate who spoke to WTXF and other outlets Friday and declined to give her last name.
“This morning I’m getting a call that the whole house is on fire and my family is gone,” she said, according to local ABC affiliate WPVI.
“It don’t even seem real,” Chyna continued. “It’s a dream — she’s going to wake up tomorrow and call me.”
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The Philadelphia Fire Department says it’s working with the police department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to determine what caused the deadly fire. Arson detection dogs and other tactics are reportedly being utilized.
“You all took my family,” Chyna said in reference to whoever is responsible, according to WTXF. “Including that baby she had in her stomach that was very healthy, and she was about to have. That’s a tragedy.”
Nieves told reporters that by the time she got out of her house with her husband, the children’s grandmother “had already jumped out the window with the baby in her arms,” per WTXF.
“There was no going back in to help anyone else,” Nieves said. “It’s just devastating. Really sad, the whole situation.”
Thompson was found dead on the second floor of the home, while her children were pronounced dead at the hospital after arriving in critical condition.
Police say the investigation is still ongoing.
A GoFundMe started by Thompson’s family describes her as a “beloved mother” and friend. “Our world was shattered by the sudden and heartbreaking loss of Ashley Thompson and her two beautiful children,” the description says. “Her children were her joy, her purpose, and the light of so many lives around them.”
