WEST CHESTER TWP., Ohio — Four children remain in critical condition at Cincinnati Children's Hospital after a fire broke out at a West Chester apartment Saturday.
Fire crews responded to the Meadow Ridge apartment complex for reports of a fire around 12:20 p.m. Crews found smoke coming from the door and windows of the apartment located at 5259 Aster Park Drive.
Four children were brought outside and received life support measures, West Chester Fire Chief Rick Prinz said.
"I was just in my room about to play my game and next thing I knew, a thick white smoke coming through my living room," next door neighbor Troy Walker told WCPO Monday.
Walker was home at the time of the fire. He said he ran outside to find black smoke billowing out the front window of the first-floor unit.
He was watching on as fire crews pulled the children out of the burning apartment.
"I was like 3 feet away from it; it was right in front of my face," he said. "I broke into tears. I was heartbroken."
Officials said one of the four children wasn't breathing and didn't have a pulse. The other three were having a very difficult time breathing.
West Chester police previously reported the ages of the children involved as 5 months, 5 years, 8 years and 1 year, however, the correct ages of all the children involved are 4 years, 6 years, 2 years and 9 months.
Just after 2 p.m Saturday, West Chester Fire said all four children — while in critical condition — had pulses and were breathing, and they were transported downtown to Cincinnati Children's Hospital. Prinz said the mother of the children did go to the hospital to be with the children.
"They've been in my prayers ever since," Walker said. "I've got a daughter of my own. She's about to be 4 next week and I would hate to have that happen to anyone else's kids or my kid."
Prinz didn't specify if any adults were home at the time of the fire.
It is also unknown what started the fire as the fire remains under investigation.
WCPO reached out to the Butler County Prosecutor. He said because the case is an ongoing investigation, he will not be releasing a statement at this time.
This story will update when more information is available.
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