GARDEN GROVE : Heater Confirmed as Fatal Fire Cause

Fire officials confirmed on Monday that a fire which took the life of a 3-year-old boy was accidentally sparked by a wall heater that ignited a mattress.

“It’s a very unfortunate thing,” said Fire Capt. Bill Dumas. “Certainly, there’s a lot of things that could have prevented it. But it is truly an accident.”

No criminal charges were filed in connection with the Friday night fire that killed Aaron Jones.

A coroner’s report released on Monday concluded that the boy died of major burns and cardiorespiratory failure due to smoke inhalation, Dumas said.

The fire, which broke out at 11 p.m. in a two-bedroom apartment in the 9500 block of Maureen Drive, was largely confined to the living room, Dumas said. The bedrooms and other units in the apartment complex received smoke damage.

“The fire, in reality, was quite small,” Dumas said.

Toni Jones, Aaron’s 36-year-old mother, and her two other young sons were injured in the fire. Two young girls whom Jones was baby-sitting were also hospitalized.

A neighbor was also injured when he broke a window to rescue the trapped family. He received 14 stitches on his right hand.

Dumas said that on Friday night Jones placed a box spring mattress too close to the wall heater. The unit then ignited the gauze used to pack the underside of the mattress.

In a frantic attempt to stop the fire, Toni Jones grabbed the burning mattress and tried to carry it outside, Dumas said. But she got only as far as the front door before she burned both her hands and dropped the bulky object.

The fire quickly spread into the living room, closing the family’s only escape route, Dumas said.

Jones, her two surviving sons and the family living with them were rescued, but Aaron, his body badly burned, later was found in the living room of the apartment.