UPDATE (March 17, 2023): The younger child has died, police confirmed to News4.
Two children were rushed to a hospital after a fire Thursday in Southeast D.C., and investigators are questioning whether any adults were in the apartment where the blaze broke out, officials said.
One of the children, a 5-year-old boy, has critical, life-threatening injuries, D.C. Fire & EMS said. A 9-year-old boy was transported in serious condition.
The fire began about 12:45 p.m. in a ground-floor apartment at a building in the 3300 block of 6th Street SE. The building is in the Congress Heights area of D.C., near the border with Maryland. Images provided by D.C. Fire & EMS show a three-story brick garden-style building with multiple ladders extending to second-floor apartments and to the roof.
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Both children were in the apartment where the fire broke out, officials said. The 5-year-old boy was pulled out by firefighters; the 9-year-old was already outside when crews arrived.
Firefighters sheltered multiple other residents on balconies due to heavy smoke in the hallways, they said. Several other residents were treated at the scene of the fire.
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The fire has been extinguished, officials said about 1:20 p.m. It did not appear to have reached any other units. Smoke alarms were present and working.
The cause of the fire has yet to be determined. Fire investigators were on the scene.
A 1-year-old baby was transported to a hospital from nearby, but for reasons not related to the fire, officials said.
UPDATE (March 17, 2023): An earlier version of this story said the younger child was 6. He was 5.
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