Fire breaks out on second floor of Phoenix apartment, 29 displaced
Mar 23, 2014, 9:31 AM | Updated: 9:31 am
PHOENIX — At around 12:45 a.m. MST Sunday morning, the Phoenix Fire Department responded to a second alarm apartment fire at 5601 W. McDowell Rd.
Firefighters with Phoenix Engine Co. 44 were the first to arrive four minutes after the call and found that the fire had broken out on the second floor of the three-story complex.
Officials were able to locate the fire, knock it down and conduct a search of the apartment.
Upon investigation, they found five victims — a 33-year-old mother along with four children ages 14, 10, three and three months old.
The 14-year-old was announced dead at the scene, while the other four were taken to local hospitals.
According to a spokesperson with the Phoenix Fire Department, four others were trapped by smoke and fire on the third floor and eventually brought to safety.
In all, 29 residents of the apartment were displaced by the fire.
Thirteen volunteers with the Red Cross arrived at the scene and came to the aid of 17 of those residents, providing food, clothes and shelter. In addition, a nurse has been working with the residents to replace any medications that may have been lost in the fire.
At this time, the cause of the fire is unknown.
