3 Children 'In Extremely Critical Condition' After Apartment Fire

NEW YORK — Three young children were severely injured in an apartment fire Sunday in Brownsville, according to authorities.

The incident was reported shortly after 11 a.m. in the 300 block of Livonia Avenue. The children — ages 4, 5 and 8 — were home alone at the time of the fire and were stable but “in extremely critical condition” Sunday afternoon, Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh said at a press conference.

The apartment was on the 11th floor of a 14-story building, according to Chief John Hodgens, who said firefighters were able to rescue the children within 12 minutes of being alerted to the blaze, despite a locked door and heavy fire inside.

There were no smoke alarms in the apartment, Kavanagh said, adding the children’s father was arrested and an investigation was opened into why the young victims were left unsupervised.