A 36-year-old woman and two children, ages 2 and 3, were found dead on Saturday in a Staten Island home, the police said.

The home, on Palisade Street, was filled with smoke when officers arrived around 10:30 a.m. to a 911 call of an assault, Assistant Chief Kenneth Corey, the commanding officer of Staten Island, said at a news conference.

Firefighters put out the fire, and the victims were all discovered in the same room. They were pronounced dead at the scene, Chief Corey said.

The authorities found a 36-year-old man — believed to be the father of the children — walking along the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway around 7:48 a.m., officials said. The man was taken to a hospital for an evaluation.