Four young children tragically lost their lives when a fire swept through their apartment building in Memphis, Tennessee.
The Memphis Fire Department responded to the blaze at the apartment complex located on East Alston Avenue. The emergency call came through at approximately 3 pm on Wednesday, May 31.
Around 30 minutes into the ordeal, firefighters arrived on the scene and found the four children in a back bedroom. According to their grandfather, their ages were one, three, four and five.
The authorities have launched an investigation into the cause of the fire, and the children’s father has been taken into custody. His identity remains undisclosed, but he reportedly informed a witness that he had briefly left the apartment to run a nearby errand. As of now, he has not been charged with any offenses in connection with the incident.
An eyewitness recounted how she and her boyfriend, while driving along the residential street, spotted flames and smoke billowing from the apartment complex. Alarmed, they pulled over their vehicle to offer help. A group of children at the scene told them that their attempts to call 911 had been unsuccessful.
The witness managed to contact the children’s mother via Facebook, telling her of the tragic event unfolding at home. Around 50 firefighters eventually arrived on the scene, where they were met with heavy smoke conditions. Their combined efforts helped to extinguish the fire by 5 pm that same day, but not before an estimated $52,000 worth of damage had been inflicted on the property.
No other injuries were reported. Speaking out after the tragedy, the children’s great-grandmother expressed her disbelief and deep sorrow that all four children had died in such a tragic way.
