6 hospitalized with serious burns in massive apartment fire, including 6-month-old child

MESA, Ariz. (KPHO/Gray News) — An early-morning apartment fire in Arizona sent six people to the hospital.

The Mesa Fire and Medical Department said the fire broke out shortly before 2 a.m. Saturday at an eight-unit apartment building.

As firefighters arrived, they found six people with serious burns. Rescuers said two adults and three children were taken to a nearby burn center by ambulance, while a fourth child was airlifted.

Mesa Fire Capt. Chris Tiller said the children’s ages range from 6 months to 13 years old.

According to Tiller, nearly 30 residents were evacuated and taken to a middle school for safety.

Because of the fire’s size, the response was upgraded to a third alarm, with additional units requested from neighboring fire departments.

“We went defensive, and now we’re still trying to manage it,” Tiller said. “We’re just kind of making sure it doesn’t spread.”

Part of the building’s roof also collapsed during the firefight.

“It’s the whole building. It’s not safe to be inside right now,” Tiller added.

While it’s unclear how the fire started, Tiller said a family was forced to escape through the flames.

“Because of the isolation of the stairwell in the unit itself, the family essentially had to come down through the fire and hot smoke to exit and actually save themselves,” Tiller said.

Tiller said that in addition to crews fighting the massive fire, a car crashed into a fire hydrant in front of a fire station, affecting the water flow needed to extinguish the blaze.

Residents were asked to avoid the area while the fire scene remained active.