Four taken to hospital after fire at Springdale apartment

Springdale Firefighters collect equipment and continue an investigation following a structure fire Friday in building 42 on Applegate Drive at the Applegate Apartments. Four people were transported to a hospital, according to the Springdale Fire Department. Firefighters went to Applegate Drive at 11:27 a.m. for reports of a fire in a downstairs apartment unit in building No. 42, according to dispatch logs. The complex is about half a mile from Jones Elementary School.
Springdale Firefighters collect equipment and continue an investigation following a structure fire Friday in building 42 on Applegate Drive at the Applegate Apartments. Four people were transported to a hospital, according to the Springdale Fire Department. Firefighters went to Applegate Drive at 11:27 a.m. for reports of a fire in a downstairs apartment unit in building No. 42, according to dispatch logs. The complex is about half a mile from Jones Elementary School.

SPRINGDALE -- A woman and three children were taken to a hospital Friday afternoon after a fire at Applegate Apartments, according to the Springdale Fire Department.

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NWA Democrat-Gazette

Springdale Firefighters collect equipment and continue an investigation following a structure fire Friday in Building 42 on Applegate Drive at the Applegate Apartments.

An update on their conditions wasn't available late Friday afternoon, but their injuries weren't thought to be life threatening, said Jim Vaughn, chief of operations for the Fire Department.

Vaughn said it was unclear if the woman was related to the children, but all four were taken to Northwest Medical Center-Springdale.

Firefighters went to Applegate Drive at 11:27 a.m. for reports of a fire in a downstairs apartment unit in building No. 42, according to dispatch logs. The complex is about a half-mile from Jones Elementary School.

Four fire trucks were at the scene Friday afternoon. A window in the unit where the fire started had been shattered to help with ventilation, said Battalion Chief James Hales. He added multiple units were damaged by the fire, affecting three families.

Irvin Garcia, 17, lives in an upstairs apartment adjacent to where the fire started. He didn't see the fire start, but said he saw lots of smoke and heard people screaming to remove a baby from the apartment.

"Two little kids came out, and they were covered in black," Garcia said.

The Applegate Apartments are managed by the Springdale Housing Authority. The apartments, built in 1971, are the oldest of 197 public housing units the authority manages.

Families displaced by the fire were offered other units within the complex, according to Debbie Bailey, executive director of the housing authority.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

NW News on 08/20/2016

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