The Associated Press
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Fire broke out in an apartment building early Tuesday, killing four people and injuring at least eight others, most of them children, a Fire Department official said.
The four who died were all believed to have been in the same apartment, Lt. Keith Staples said. Three of them were children, he said.
The fire on the city’s north side was reported shortly before 3 a.m. By the time firefighters reached it, the two-story building was in flames, officials said. It wasn’t immediately clear how the blaze started.
Authorities said eight people — five of them children — were taken to hospitals.
Resident Jeremy Ballard said he heard sirens and saw flashing lights and went outside, thinking there had been a traffic accidents. When he saw the flames, Ballard said, he ran back into his apartment to get his daughters out.
Some residents are reported to have jumped from balconies to escape the flames.