IFD: 2 teenage siblings injured in northeast side apartment fire
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Two teenage siblings were injured early Monday morning in an apartment fire on Indy’s northeast side.
At 3:33 a.m., Indianapolis Fire Department firefighters were dispatched to the 2400 block of Beckwith Drive on multiple calls reporting a fire. That is located at New Bridge Apartments.
Firefighters say the blaze was shown coming from the second floor of the two-story building.
A 16-year-old boy and his 13-year-old sister were inside the apartment when the fire broke out. The 16-year-old told firefighters that he awoke to his sister screaming and found heavy smoke and fire inside the apartment.
IFD says the teenage boy jumped from the second-floor window, ran to the front of the building, and caught his sister after she jumped from a second-floor window.
Officials say the mother was at work during the time of the fire, and there were no working smoke alarms.
The 16-year-old also told investigators they had several space heaters turned on in the apartment using extension cords, and had been using the stove for heat. They had moved into the apartment in November and had attempted to turn the heat on multiple times but smelled heat — a burning smell.
The cause of the fire is still being determined, and it remains unclear if those issues contributed to the fire.
The 16-year-old was taken to Eskenazi Health in stable condition, and his 13-year-old sister was taken to Riley Hospital in serious condition.
IFD says this is the sixth working fire for firefighters in 48 hours.