FALL RIVER, Mass. --
A young girl was killed in a fire at a three-story apartment building in Fall River Friday morning.
The fire broke out shortly before 4 a.m. on Tecumseh Street and quickly grew to two alarms. Fire officials said Kayara Graham, 4, was killed. Her mother, Denisha Golden, was able to get out.
"We come out the front door and we see the lady outside from the first floor crying to save her daughter," said second-floor resident Pedro Perez.
Perez, his wife and three children were able to get out safely.
"In this type of construction, the fire tends to follow the beams right up through the upper floors. It's very hard to stop these fires," said Fall River District Chief Michael Clark.
Perez and first responders tried to save Kayara, but smoke and flames pushed them back.
"I felt bad because I couldn't save her daughter. She wanted us to go and the smoke was too bad. It was too much," Perez said.
Investigators said the fire appears to have started on the first floor before spreading to the entire building.
"It started in the back and then it went up to my son's room. From my son's room, it went into our room because my son's room and my room is right next to each other," Perez said.
"Very fast. It went up to the second floor like nothing, and then the third and then the roof," neighbor Carrie Miranda said.
Golden was injured and taken to Rhode Island Hospital.
Two firefighters were also hurt battling the fire. One was taken to Rhode Island Hospital, and the other was transported to St. Anne's Hospital. Fire officials did not immediately say how serious the injuries were.
The cause remains under investigation. Investigators took a stove out of the first-floor apartment.
"It appears it started in the area of the first-floor kitchen," Clark said.
What remained of the burned building was demolished Friday afternoon.
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