Witnesses said they could see the woman trying to fight her way back into the apartment after carrying her three children out, but she was unable to rescue the infant.
Neighbors started banging on the Trenton Fire Company doors at the same time firefighters noticed the smoke across the street, said Fire Director Dennis Keenan.
Firefighters found the infant in a crib inside a bedroom, Keenan said. The child was believed to be between 12 and 18 months; it was not immediately known if it was a boy or a girl.
``We don't have a cause yet, but we do believe the occupants inside tried to fight the fire themselves,'' Keenan said.
Firefighters found faucets running inside the apartment, which sits behind a barber shop. The woman and three other children were taken to a hospital after inhaling smoke, Keenan said. Fire officials did not have the names or ages of the children.
Keenan said investigators believe the woman was the aunt of the dead child.
The fire, which did not spread beyond the one apartment, was extinguished quickly.
When firefighters arrived, the woman tried to tell them that another child was still inside, but she could not speak English well enough, said neighbor Carmen Pachecho, 39.
``They could have saved the baby,'' Pachecho said. ``She tried to get the baby out but the fire was so strong.''
