FORT SMITH — A 5-year-old boy became the second victim of a house fire that took place in Fort Smith early Tuesday, according to the Fort Smith Police Department.
Fort Smith Police Department spokesman Aric Mitchell said the boy died Thursday morning from injuries he sustained during the fire. Another child, a 3-year-old girl, died after the same fire from her injuries on Tuesday.
The fire started at about 3 a.m. Tuesday. The Fort Smith police and fire departments responded to a call about a structural fire in the 800 block of North 35th Street, according to a news release by Fort Smith police. They discovered multiple victims inside the home, including four children between the ages of 3 and 10 and their 30-year-old mother. Police said the children were flown to Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock for treatment.
Mitchell said Thursday the mother is currently in the intensive care unit at a Fort Smith hospital in critical condition. The two surviving children, both girls, are currently hospitalized with life-threatening injuries. The family had been renting the home at the time of the fire.
Fort Smith Fire Marshal Teddy Abbey said on Tuesday the fire started in the living room. He added on Thursday there was no evidence of smoke detectors inside the home. In addition, everything is pointing toward a gas heater that had been inserted into a wall as the source of the fire. However, the incident is still under investigation.