A 4-year-old boy is dead and another child is injured following an early morning house fire on the city's east side.

The fire broke out around 1:00 a.m. Friday, inside of a home on East 4th Street, between Wallace and Ash Streets.
Erie firefighters arrived at the scene to find the front of the home engulfed in flames.

According to Erie Chief Fire Investigator Don Sauer, two neighbors helped rescue an 11-year-old boy from a first-floor window.

Sauer says the boy was taken to the hospital, after suffering abrasions during the rescue. According to Sauer, a 4-year-old boy who was on the second floor died in the fire.

"It's always hard no matter how old or young the individual is, when they pass away from injuries from a fire," said Sauer. "We're all pretty shook up about it."

Sauer says two adults and two children lived there, but the adults were not home at the time of the fire. A dog was also killed.

Both the Erie Fire Department and Erie Police Department are investigating the cause of the fire.