Man Dies In Manchester, NH Apartment Fire; Child Rescued
MANCHESTER, NH (CBS) - A 60-year old man perished in a fire in a Manchester, New Hampshire apartment while firefighters say they also rescued a one-year old girl.
Firefighters say they found the victim on the kitchen floor, and it's what they say they found as they continued circling the building on Amherst Street that alarmed them. "We noticed a young child looking out the window in an apartment adjacent to the fire," said district chief Mike Gamache.
He says firefighters went inside and grabbed the girl, handing her to a bystander while they continued searching the building. But the girl's mother, Lacresha Bonds, tells WBZ-TV she never left the child alone, and was there when firefighters knocked on the door. "At a time like this when fire is happening, I would never leave my kid alone," said Bonds.
Neighbor Linda Stepanik says the smoke was pouring out the windows and was very dark and black. Chief Gamache says the victim, a Vietnam veteran who neighbors say had fallen on hard times, was deceased before they even entered the apartment. As for the little girl he says that "anytime you witness any child alone is concerning to us."
Bonds claims she was among the rescued even as firefighters tell a different story of getting everyone to safety. The fire did not spread beyond the first floor apartment, and officials say it was likely an accident caused by smoking.
MORE LOCAL NEWS FROM CBS BOSTON