Four children were rescued from their Philadelphia home Sunday after police say their mother locked them in the basement for 15 hours without food as punishment for bad behavior . The woman , a single mother who reportedly works at the Philadelphia International Airport , is now facing four counts of endangering the welfare of a child . Firefighters rescued the woman 's three daughters and a son , ages 9 to 13 , at around 1.30pm Sunday after one of the children used an emergency-only cellphone to call 911 . Scroll down for video . Rescue : Firefighters in Philadelphia rescued Sunday four children from the basement of a two-story home ( second right ) on East Atlantic Street . Harsh punishment : Police say their mother of the three girls an a boy locked them in this basement for 15 hours without access to food or bathroom . Firefighters broke through this second-floor window to enter the locked home and extract the hungry kids . First responders had to break through a second-floor window to enter the locked home in the 1900 block of East Atlantic Street in the Kensington section of Philadelphia . All four children were taken to St Christopher ’ s Hospital for Children for evaluation and were found to be in good condition . Neighbors were stunned to learn of the allegations against the mother of four , whom they described as a hard-working airport employee and nursing student . Block captain Victoria Sipes said her neighbor 's children attend school regularly and are often seen playing outside with other kids . ‘ It does n't seem like her , ’ Sipes told the station 6ABC . ‘ I know that she 's been going through a lot lately , but this is not something it would seem like she would do. ’ Police spokeswoman Tanya Little said the mother deliberately locked her children in the basement at around 11pm Saturday , and they spent the next 15 hours without access to food or bathroom . A friend of one of the children , a 12-year-old girl , said she saw her arguing with her mother Saturday afternoon . A family friend told NBC10 the mother locked her kids in the basement because one of them stole money . Aphrodite Sanchez , a friend of the woman 's 12-year-old daughter , said she saw the girl arguing outside with her mother Saturday afternoon . Following the rescue Sunday , the mother was taken in for questioning . Her children will be either placed with other relatives , or released into the custody of the Department of Human Services .
Single mother from Kensington is facing four counts of endangering welfare of a child . Firefighters rescued a boy and three girls , ages 9 to 13 , from basement in Philadelphia section Sunday . Police say the children were without access to food or bathroom for about 15 hours . Family friend said the mother locked her kids after one of them stole money .