Nine-year-old in medically induced coma after apartment blaze

A nine-year-old boy was fighting for his life in a medically induced coma on Monday after being rescued from a devastating early Sunday fire at a Maynards, St Peter, apartment, as fire officials warned residents to take greater care with household electrical equipment.

The Barbados Fire Service received the emergency call at 3:46 a.m., dispatching two water tankers and multiple officers to the ten-unit housing complex. On arrival, emergency crews found one of the units engulfed in flames.

“A nine-year-old child suffered some degree of smoke inhalation and had to be pulled from the unit before the arrival of the fire service,” Divisional Commander Patrick Edwards told Barbados TODAY. “He was immediately taken to hospital for treatment.”