November 13, 2002
KTRK-TV Houston (abc13.com)
By The Associated Press
(11/13/02- Georgetown) - Four children were in critical condition Tuesday night after a fire erupted in the minivan where they waited outside their family's apartment.
The boys' mother, Veronica Bigelow, had pulled the minivan up to their apartment and ran into the home to drop something off. When she came out, the minivan was on fire, said Assistant Police Chief Kevin Stofle. "It all happened very fast according to witnesses," he said. The boys _ 20-month-old Sean, 4-year-old Justin, 6-year-old Brandon and 7-year-old Jerry were taken from the scene by helicopter to an Austin hospital and then transported to Shriners Burn Hospital for Children in Galveston, Stofle said. "They appeared at the scene to be in very serious condition," Stofle said. Police received numerous 911 calls about 5:15 p.m. Tuesday about a vehicle on fire in an apartment complex parking lot, Stofle said. Some people tried to put the fire out. Bigelow ran outside and said that her children were in the vehicle. The witnesses opened a side door and the back hatch and got the boys out. Stofle said that by the time emergency vehicles arrived, the fire was out. "The fire wasn't all that large," Stofle said. Resident Mary Ann Bone, 28, said she heard what sounded like an explosion and glass breaking. "There was smoke pouring out. Everybody was pulling the children out of the van," she said in a story in Wednesday's Austin American-Statesman. She said the boys' condition "was really bad. It will haunt me forever." Stofle said the fire marshal is certain the fire originated between the front and middle seats. He said the initial investigation pointed to a mechanical devise used by the children. He said an official cause of the fire was expected on Wednesday. He said no charges were expected at this point.