1 child dead, another in critical condition, after fire ripped through Pittsburgh apartment building
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A child is dead after a fire at an apartment complex in Pittsburgh's East Hills neighborhood.
Fire crews came to the Maple Ridge Apartments around 9 p.m. Friday. Firefighters broke through windows and got two children out.
"It's hard to even fathom – even think about it," Muhammad Salaam, who was visiting his nephew, said.
"[A] Uniformed guy grabbed me and said, 'You can't go in there,'" Salaam said.
"I just backed up, came outside, and just prayed for whoever was in the house."
Three people were injured. Two were children – taken to UPMC Children's Hospital in Lawrenceville.
Praise Lemons, a two-year-old girl, ended up dying at the hospital. One girl is still in critical condition.
The condition of the adult injured is not known at the time of this report.
"I'm angry. I got tears in my eyes. These are two little kids. It's two days after Christmas, you know," Yugonda Akrie, a Maple Ridge Apartments resident, said.
One apartment was heavily damaged. Others had smoke and water damage.
"This is public housing," Akrie said. "There's no way anybody should have a space heater. It should be the situation should be fixed."
On Saturday, all people could think about here were those who called that top apartment home.
"The parents – they're real good people man," Salaam said. "Like – it's just sad that they have to go through this."
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
