9-Month-Old Girl Dies in Burbank Apartment Fire

A 9-month-old girl died in what investigators believe was an accidental fire that broke out in a Burbank apartment where she was sleeping, authorities said Thursday.

The victim of the fire in the 400 block of West Alameda Avenue was identified by Burbank police as Brittany Wright. Authorities said her mother, Debra Wright, 32, was treated for smoke inhalation and emotional stress after the fire about 9 p.m. Wednesday.

The fire was ignited in a bedroom where the girl was sleeping, the Burbank Fire Department said. The exact cause of the blaze remained under investigation.

“We preliminarily show it as accidental, but we don’t have enough information to pinpoint exactly what it was,” Battalion Chief Stan Nelson said. “There is so much rubble in there it makes it difficult to make a determination.”

Nelson said investigators sent a lamp and other appliances that were in the burned bedroom to a laboratory to determine if an electrical short started the blaze. The results may take several days, he said. On Wednesday evening, the child had been sick and was put to bed by her mother, who left the bedroom and fell asleep on a couch in the living room, Nelson said.

About 9:05 p.m., a passer-by saw the smoke and flames in the first-floor apartment of a three-floor complex and pounded on the door, waking the mother, Nelson said. The bedroom was engulfed in flames, and the mother and other residents were unable to save the girl, he said.

About 20 firefighters quickly doused the flames and removed the victim, who had severe burns and suffered from smoke inhalation.

She was taken to St. Joseph Medical Center, where efforts to revive her were unsuccessful.