The child who was injured during a New Year’s Day apartment building fire in Manchester, New Hampshire has died, the New Hampshire State Fire Marshal announced on Saturday.
The 5-year-old girl had been found unresponsive in a fourth-floor bedroom by firefighters. She was rushed to a Boston hospital in critical condition and passed on Wednesday. The Massachusetts Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has performed an autopsy to determine her cause of death.
The fire began just 30 minutes after midnight on Union Street. The flames raged on the third and fourth floors before spreading to the roof. One man was killed in the fire. He was identified as 70-year-old Thomas J. Casey, and his cause of death was determined to be smoke inhalation, according to the medical examiner.
One woman was rushed to a Boston hospital in critical condition. Five other people received serious injuries and were hospitalized. All the victims have since been discharged, according to the fire marshal.
Residents could be seen waiting in windows and on balconies for firefighters to rescue them.
“I kicked into high gear. I got my family rallied up. My son, my daughter, my wife. And I tried to find a way to get down safely off of one of the railings by trying to slide down one of the poles. But that didn’t work out,” said resident Jonathan Barrett.
Fire investigators believe the fire is not suspicious and started in a third-floor bedroom. The building did not have a sprinkler system but did have an operational fire alarm, the fire marshal said.
Around 10 families were displaced by the fire and are receiving help from the Red Cross. Around 50 people lived in the building.
