Flowers were left Friday next to a building on Branch Street that was the scene of an apartment complex fire that killed seven.

Ethen Lam , 7, who lives down the street, mourned his classmate Sayuri Sak.

Minh Ngo Van lived in the complex. Two of his roommates were killed.

Residents of a nearby building sit on their front steps as they read the news about the fire.

Fire investigators continued to work the scene.

Officials conferred as they sought a cause for the blaze.

Investigators walked past a first-floor apartment unit.

The building had a variety store on the ground floor and apartments above.

Investigators worked on the second floor.

Glory Buddhist Temple monk Tim Seouth carried books in the monk house. The temple held a memorial event Thursday night.

Glory Buddhist Temple will be the location for Sunday memorial services for the victims of the fire.

Members of the temple prepared the monk's daily offering in front of the altar.

Monks from Glory Buddhist Temple led people away from the building Thursday.

Buddhist monks chanted in front of the building with hundreds of people from the Cambodian community gathered at the scene.

Earlier Thursday, a crowd waited for information outside the complex.

A woman became angry while waiting for information.

Residents comforted each other.

Firefighters continued to work on the building hours after the blaze.

Residents and family members waited for news.

Family members were allowed inside police lines for a briefing.

Thearan Sak spoke to media members outside the Red Cross shelter. He lost five family members.

Neighbors watched from a second floor balcony across the street.

The back of the building borders a cemetery.

Geri Boyles of Lowell hugged her daughter, Corinna, outside the building.

Lowell Fire Chief Edward Pitta (left) Mass. State Fire Marshal Stephen Coan, and Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan held a news conference.

Relatives and friends of missing people gathered outside of the building.

Loved ones consoled each other after the fatal three-alarm fire.

Firefighters carried a body out of the apartment building in Lowell.

The fire broke out in a nine-unit apartment building on Branch Street early Thursday, according to a spokeswoman.

Officials said 48 people lived in the building, which had businesses on the ground floors.

A firefighter worked on the top floor of the building after the fire.

Authorities described the fire as “fast moving.”

Firefighters were on the scene throughout the day.

A state fire marshal talked on a cellphone at the scene.

Fire officials observed the scene.

Mayor Rodney M. Elliott (center, in a white shirt with a red tie) spoke at the scene.

An overhead view shows the damage to the upper part of the building.

Another aerial photograph shows the entire structure.

Flames shot out of the building, lighting up the street.

The fire engulfed much of the building’s upper floor.

Firefighters used a hose to battle the blaze.

Bystanders watched the fire, which broke out when many were sleeping.

Emergency personnel responded to the fire.