Four young children tragically lost their lives when a fire swept through their apartment building in Memphis, Tennessee.
A major fire engulfed an apartment complex on East Alston Avenue in Memphis, leading to a distressing incident that unfolded on May 31, with the initial call to emergency services coming in at around 3 pm. The Memphis Fire Department said that the accident occurred due to rigged wiring. Power to the apartment had been cut off since April and the family had been in the process of being evicted.
Arriving about 30 minutes after the onset of the fire, firefighters made the grim discovery of four children in a rear bedroom. The children’s ages – one, three, four and five – were provided by their heartbroken grandfather, Patrick Davis.
The investigation into the source of the fire is ongoing, with the children’s father currently in police custody. His identity has not been released, but he allegedly told a witness that he had left the apartment momentarily to run an errand nearby.
An eyewitness driving by the flaming apartment complex with her boyfriend reported the children’s unsuccessful attempts to call 911. She was finally able to reach the children’s mother via Facebook, alerting her to the horrendous situation at her home. By 5 pm, approximately 50 firefighters had fought the thick smoke and extinguished the fire, though not before it caused an estimated $52,000 worth of property damage.
Aside from the heartbreaking loss of the four children, no other injuries were reported. The children’s great-grandmother voiced her grief and disbelief following the tragedy, lamenting the loss of all four children in such a disastrous event.
