Christmas Tree Fire Burns Girl, 6

A 6-year-old girl was critically burned Sunday when fire, fed by the family Christmas tree, swept through an apartment in the Jordan Downs Housing Project in Watts, and firefighters rescued five others trapped by the blaze, authorities said.

A man in the apartment was also burned and listed in critical condition at Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center, a hospital spokeswoman said.

A police officer who helped rescue the six people in the apartment suffered smoke inhalation and minor burns and was taken to the hospital, police said. Another officer was treated for smoke inhalation and released. None of of the injured was identified.

The fire appears to have started in a living room couch in the two-story apartment and spread to the Christmas tree, Los Angeles City Fire Department spokesman Jim Wells said.

The six people in the apartment included the injured man, three teen-agers, the burned girl and another child, Wells said. Firefighters and police officers carried them from the building through a window on the second floor, he said.

The fire at 2148 E. 97th St. began at 5:20 p.m., and firefighters extinguished it 20 minutes later, Wells said. He estimated damage at $8,000 to the building and $5,000 to contents.

The exact cause was under investigation.