New York, NY —

As marshals continued to investigate the cause of a Bronx fire that killed 9 people, including eight children, stunned neighbors gathered at the site. Neighbor Vivian Green, who lives across the street from the destroyed four-story row house, says she would see the family members almost every day.

GREEN: Very nice group of people. A family come from Africa trying to make it in America and I would see them put their babies on the bus to go to school in the morning going to the store shopping, you know, to get groceries.

REPORTER: Officials say that 22 people lived in the house. The child victims ranged from an infant to a 10-years-old. They said the family members were all immigrants from the nation of Mali. The home had two smoke alarms but they did not have batteries.

Bronx resident Charles O'Neil said he heard the firetruck sirens and went to the burning row house down the street from where he lives. As he arrived, he saw firefighters removing the nine victims who were killed in the blaze.

O'NEIL: In fact when I came down I came down around 12 midnight and I was just standing here and I seen them pull out all nine bodies I seen that they pull out all nine bodies and I seen them severely burned.

REPORTER: Twenty-two family members resided in the four-story residence. Eight of the nine victims were children. Investigators say the cause of the blaze could have been a space heater or an overloaded power strip.