Fire Seriously Burns Boy After Alarm Is Disabled
From Times Staff and Wire Reports
A 15-year-old boy was badly burned in a house fire hours after his family took the batteries from a smoke detector because it was chirping.
Reynaldo Hidalgo received second-degree burns over 70% of his body and was in critical condition after the fire was caused this week by a lit candle in the living room, firefighters said.
He was being treated in the burn unit of University Medical Center in Fresno. Other family members were treated for smoke inhalation; one brother escaped unharmed.
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