Update: 1-year-old dies in south Tulsa apartment fire; another child has grave injuries, officer says | Metro & Region

A 1-year-old who was trapped in a Tulsa apartment fire died early Friday morning and a 7-year-old was in critical condition after the stairway to their unit collapsed in the blaze, public safety officials said.

Firefighters rescued three children and two adults who were trapped in a second-floor apartment at the Sand Dollar apartment complex, located in the 900 block of East 61st Street.

The 1-year-old died after firefighters at the scene attempted resuscitation and the child was taken to a hospital, witnesses and officials said.

Tulsa Fire Capt. Stan May said Friday that the cause of the fire was not yet known.

The three children and two adults hid in the bathroom after they found that they couldn’t escape, May said.

“Firefighters had to set up ladders to get to where they found them,” May said.

Firefighters were able to pull the five people out of the apartment shortly after 2:15 a.m. Emergency responders transported the five people and another man, who had already escaped from the burning building, to hospitals.

The fire damaged at least four apartments in one of the complex’s buildings. Residents from at least eight of the apartments in the fire-damaged building were displaced Friday morning. American Red Cross volunteers responded to assist them, police said.

May said additional residents could be displaced.

Several residents stood outside their apartments early Friday, watching as firefighters wrapped up.

Chris Whittaker, who lived in the same building on the first floor opposite the fire, said there wasn’t time to think once he woke up.

“It happened too fast,” Whittaker said. “You do the first thing that comes in your head. The first thing in my head was getting my son.”

Whittaker, his 2-year-old son and a roommate were moving belongings to a new apartment at the complex Friday afternoon.

Whittaker said he was still stunned by what he had seen.

“It was hard on everybody,” Whittaker said. “Seeing the family get taken out unconscious was bad. It wasn’t a good sight.”

Whittaker said he saw firefighters administer CPR to the 1-year-old and found out later in the day that the child had died.

“One year old is too young,” he said. “I’m thinking about it every time I look at my son.”