14-year-old girl dies in fire at Arkansas apartment

A 14-year-old girl died in a blaze at an Arkansas apartment complex Friday morning, a fire department spokesman said.

The fire began in the kitchen after food that was cooking was left unattended, according to Forrest City Fire Marshall Jeremy Sharp.

The city's Fire Department was called to the Victoria Street residence shortly after 3:10 a.m. A woman standing outside with two children told firefighters that her 14-year-old daughter was still in the apartment, Sharp said.

“She hollered out for the kids,” the fire marshall added. “The two youngest came down the stairs, but the oldest one, who was a fatality, always slept with the door closed.”

Sharp said the teen was a student at Forrest City High School.

Firefighters contained the fire within 45 minutes, and it did not spread to other apartments in the complex.

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