Springfield, Mass. Blaze Injures 7, Including 5 Children

A weekend house fire that injured seven members of a Springfield, Mass. family is being blamed on combustible material that was left too close to an electric heater.

One of the victims, 7-year-old Victor Contreras, was listed in critical condition at Baystate Medical Center with burns on his face, head and arms.

The boy’s father also sustained burns and was listed in good condition at the hospital. Fire department spokesman Dennis Leger says four other children and an adult were treated for minor injuries or smoke inhalation.

Leger says the blaze started early Sunday morning in a bedroom on the first floor of the house on Shillingford Street. The top two floors of the three-family home were unoccupied at the time.

Topics Massachusetts