A young child suffered burns over 90% of his body after being trapped in an apartment fire in Santa Rosa.
According to fire officials, a fire broke out at a Santa Rosa apartment, and the boy was trapped on the second floor until firefighters carried him out of the burning building.
The five-year-old boy was rushed to a burn unit and listed in critical condition.
Investigations are ongoing to find out the cause of the fire.
A GoFundMe page identified the boy’s first name as Deangelo. “Deangelo was hospitalized for critical body burns and is currently fighting for his life,” the page states.
According to Santa Rosa Fire Marshal Paul Lowenthal, they received emergency calls on Saturday reporting that people were trapped inside a burning apartment.
Firefighters rushed to the apartment at 801 Dutton Avenue and discovered that the boy was still inside.
A witness said the boy was disabled and relied on an oxygen tank.
“I saw the boy several times. He was small, used oxygen,” the witness said. The boy’s mother arrived home to see the apartment on fire.
According to the Santa Rosa Fire Department, the fire’s origin was traced to a bedroom.
SRFD wrote, “(Firefighters) found smoke coming from a second floor window of a two story apartment building. They immediately went inside to search for occupants while other firefighters cut openings in the roof to release the heat and smoke from inside the apartment. Firefighters from the first engine quickly located and removed a juvenile victim from the second floor and delivered him to an ambulance crew who was waiting outside.”
It’s unclear who was at home with the five-year-old boy when the fire broke out. One 911 caller believed an adult was also trapped inside the burning apartment, but firefighters found no other victims.
SRFD wrote, “Crews dispersed throughout the apartment and searched for any additional victims, but they didn’t find any. The fire damage was limited to the bedroom where it started, but the rest of the apartment suffered heat and smoke damage.”
