Fire dispatchers received numerous calls at 11:45PM Saturday night that a downstairs apartment of a 2-story wood frame 4-plex apartment building at 2904 Marlin Avenue was on fire. Callers also stated they believed that people were trapped inside the apartment.
When firefighters arrived, they found neighbors using a garden hose to spray water into the apartment as two Metro officers were pulling a 34-year-old male from the unit. Firefighters from Rescue Eight quickly entered the apartment and found the water from the garden hose had put much of the fire out, which was in the kitchen area, enough for them to do a quick search. They found a 2-year old infant girl laying in a bed in a back bedroom, unresponsive and not breathing. Both victims were quickly loaded into LVFR ambulances and transported to UMC. By the time they arrived at UMC medics had the infant girl breathing. She was released the next day from the hospital to her mother. The adult male was admitted to the ICU in critical condition suffering from smoke inhalation.
Fire investigators determined the fire started on an electric stove, a pot was left cooking and started the fire, which produced a dense smoke in the apartment. The fire was confined to the one unit; the other three apartments in the building were not damaged. Damage was estimated at $15,000. Smoke alarms were found in the apartment, but were not operating.
