public safety

Infant killed in fire

Two people were able to escape a burning home, but a five-month-old was trapped inside.

Neighbors are saying the fire department’s slow response contributed to the tragedy.

Gabriel Rodríguez/ LA PRENSA

tragic:A fire Thursday afternoon killed an infant and injured two other children in Pedregal.1026228

An infant was killed in a fire Thursday afternoon in Villa Cecilia in Pedregal.

According to fire officials, the blaze started in a bedroom of a home and spread quickly through the wooden structure.

Talia Hernández, 14, was apparently caring for younger children in the house. She told officials she had just finished watching the noon news when she went to the kitchen to get some food for her two-year-old niece, Arielis Hernández.

A short time later, flames sprang from the bedroom where another child, five-month-old Alexander Hernández, was sleeping. Talia said she was able to get the two-year-old out of the house but couldn't save the baby.

Arielis suffered burns to her right arm, and Talia suffered smoke inhalation. They were both taken to a medical center for treatment.

Neighbors said they were shocked that firefighters took so long to arrive at the scene.

"There was a delay," said Rolando González. If they were on time, perhaps this tragedy may have been avoided."

Records indicate that at least three alarms were received by firefighters. The first, at 12:20, was considered a false alarm. The second was reported as "an attempt to start a fire." It wasn't until the third alarm was received, in which a woman desperately spoke with firefighters, that help was dispatched.

The infant's mother, Cenilda Hernández, was at work when the fire broke out. A friend called to tell her to return home, that something terrible had happened.

The house was located in an area where buildings are not permitted, said Katia Erun, of the Ministerio de Vivienda (Mivi.) But several families have built unauthorized houses there.

The nine surviving members of the Hernández family will be relocated, Erun said, to the community of Florida.

Oscar Coronado, a representative of Pedregal, said it would be difficult to find housing for so many people, but some arrangements will be made in the next few days.

Meanwhile the government is providing the family with food and clothing, as well as other necessary items.