The Erie County Coroner’s Office has released the name of a 4-year-old boy who died in an east Erie house fire earlier this month as city fire and police investigators continue their probe into the cause of the blaze.
The boy, identified by Coroner Lyell Cook as Julian Roberts , was pronounced dead at the scene following an early-morning fire on Sept. 6 at 542 E. Fourth St. An 11-year-old boy was also inside the house at the time but was helped out by two men who fire officials said used a shovel to break out a window and pull the boy out.
The 11-year-old had minor injuries that were related to being freed from the house, according to Erie police.
Fire investigators said the fire started in the first-floor living room of the residence. Its cause remains under investigation.
Don Sauer, the Erie Bureau of Fire’s chief fire investigator, said evidence collected from the scene of the fire was taken to Pittsburgh and turned over to the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for testing in an effort to determine the fire’s possible cause. Officials were awaiting the results of the testing Thursday, Sauer said.