Authorities: Fairfield fire that claimed lives of 4 young children was accidental

Authorities: Deadly Fairfield fire accidental

FAIRFIELD, Calif. — An apartment fire that claimed the lives of four young children in Northern California was accidental, authorities said Thursday as they described their frantic rescue efforts.

Investigators have determined the likely cause of Wednesday night’s blaze in Fairfield, but were not yet releasing the information, Fairfield Assistant Fire Marshal Jerry Clark said. They were waiting to corroborate their findings based on statements given by witnesses and the children’s mothers, who survived the blaze, he said.

Fire officials had scheduled a new conference for 3 p.m.

The children — three siblings and their cousin who were between the ages of 1 and 4 — were inside the apartment unit when the fire broke out around 9:10 p.m.

Authorities said neighbors scrambled to put it out with garden hoses. Police officers who crawled in to the burning apartment to rescue the kids were pushed back by heavy smoke and heat.

Three of the children were found dead inside after the fire was put out. The fourth died at the hospital.

Clark says the children’s mothers are sisters. Both suffered minor smoke inhalation and one also had moderate burns on her hands and forearms.

The victims’ names have not been released.

“It’s the most terrible thing that can happen to a family,” Elmer Martinez, 28, told the San Francisco Chronicle. “They’re kids just starting their lives. It’s just a big tragedy.”