A woman was pronounced dead and a child was rushed to the hospital after flames tore through a two-story apartment building on Druid Hill Drive in Birmingham. Firefighters arrived to find the building heavily involved with smoke and fire, and pulled two victims from a first-floor apartment before the night was over.
According to WBRC, one person died and another was taken to Children's Hospital after the fire. The station reported that the age of the person taken for treatment had not been confirmed, and that no other injuries were reported beyond those two victims.
As reported by AL.com, the fire broke out just before 6 p.m. Monday, with initial reports of two people trapped inside. Firefighters were able to pull both victims from a first-floor apartment in the 1500 block of Druid Hills Drive Circle, the outlet said.
Woman Pronounced Dead, Child Taken to Children's of Alabama
Birmingham Fire and Rescue Capt. Orlando Reynolds told AL.com that a woman was pronounced dead at the scene. A child, described by neighbors as a toddler boy, was rushed to Children's of Alabama, the outlet reported, though the extent of his injuries has not yet been released.
Back at the scene, Reynolds said no other injuries were reported beyond the two victims pulled from the apartment. As noted by AL.com, firefighters were still checking to see if any other apartments in the building had been affected by the blaze.
Cause Remains Unclear as Investigation Continues
The cause of the fire had not yet been determined, according to al.com's reporting. Reynolds said the fire remains under investigation, and WBRC has not reported any further updates on the cause or on the condition of the child taken to the hospital.
The Druid Hill Drive fire follows a separate Birmingham apartment fire in April, when WBRC reported that crews were called to a one-story, two-unit building in the 6500 block of 2nd Avenue South. In that incident, one person was taken to UAB Hospital, and officials said at the time that the person's injuries and condition were unknown.
