Fire engulfs Mesa apartment, 4 children, 2 adults burned; some injuries life-threatening

By Dan McCarthy
Mail

A fire early Saturday morning at a Mesa apartment complex remains under investigation after the blaze injured six people, including four children, police said.

Fire and police officials responded to the fire at the complex near Baseline and Dobson roads about 2 a.m. Jan. 24. Residents were evacuated, “but the target apartment had two adults and four children that all suffered burns,” police stated in a release.

The approximate ages of the children are 6 months, 3, 4 and 10 years old. 

An officer rushed the 4-year-old to the hospital and the others were taken by ambulance, police said.

The extent of the injuries were unknown as of late Saturday morning, but several, including those suffered by the 4-year-old, were considered life-threatening, police said.

"The fire heavily damaged the apartment and spread to other units, impacting all eight in the building," Assistant Fire Chief  Brent Burgett said.

Approximately 25 residents received assistance from fire and police personnel at the evacuation center, he said.

The blaze reached a third-alarm level, and Mesa received support from the Chandler, Tempe and Gilbert fire departments.

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Dan McCarthy
Web content

dmccarthy@iniusa.org

Meet Dan
Dan McCarthy joined Independent Newsmedia as web content editor after a 40-plus year career as a reporter and editor in New Jersey and Arizona. During his time in Arizona, he has been an editor of daily and weekly papers in Tempe, Scottsdale, Chandler, Ahwatukee, Sun City, Sun City West, Surprise, Peoria and Glendale. Prior to moving to Arizona in 1984, when he was hired to be assistant city editor at the Tempe Daily News, he covered regional police/fire news, municipal, county and state governments in New Jersey, the latter as bureau chief at the state Capitol.

Community: He has served on several boards over the years, including the Tempe Community Action Agency and the Tempe St. Luke’s Hospital Board of Governors. He is a graduate of the Tempe Leadership and Scottsdale Leadership programs, serving as media adviser for subsequent classes of Tempe Leadership.

Education: Arizona State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism. 

Random Fact: Set winter/summer track records in the 60-, 100- and 220-yard dashes at his high school in New Jersey. 

Hobbies: Tai chi, cooking, dining at his must-eat-once places around the U.S. and the Cincinnati Reds, his favorite team since 1961.