Child Treated for Burns in Fredericton Apartment Fire

A fire on Fredericton's Northside Friday forced several people to evacuate a four-unit apartment complex, including a child who was taken to the hospital with minor burns.

The blaze at 21 Neville Street was called in to the Fredericton Fire Department shortly after 8 a.m. and was brought under control within an hour.

Canadian Red Cross spokesman Dan Bedell said seven people were displaced by the fire — three adults and four children ranging in age from 5 to 8.   He said a child who was visiting at the time was treated in hospital for burns and released later in the day.  Two others were treated for smoke inhalation.

The Fredericton Fire  Department posted that one of the older children who escaped through the smoke "did what the firefighters told me to do when I was a kid--crawled below the smoke."

Most of the fire damage was in an upstairs bedroom and attic, with smoke and water damage in other parts of the building.

New Brunswick Housing Authority provided emergency lodging for the tenants of the other three units, who were allowed to return later in the day.

The cause of the fire has not yet been determined.