harrisonsdream
05-25-2007, 09:09 AM
In minutes, fire claims child's life
3-year-old was left unsupervised in the apartment
By ROBERT CROWE
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle
Most mornings, after a long night working in a bottling plant, Tammie Sharma arrived home at about 7 a.m., just in time to wake up her daughters and take them to school. Usually, while Sharma was driving home, her live-in boyfriend was en route to his job in Baytown.
There was often a gap of 30 minutes or less when Sharma's two little girls, 3 and 6, were left alone.
On Thursday, that gap was enough time for a fire to break out in their apartment and take the life of the younger girl.
"I guess they just figured just a few minutes was not going to hurt. She's on her way home, so it really shouldn't make a big difference," said Aurelia Escobedo-Magos, a relative of Sharma's.
Dazzalena Escobedo died in the fire. Sharma and her boyfriend, Adrian Gonzales, who investigators said were not at home when the blaze started, were both arrested and charged with injury to a child by omission.
Divia Escobedo was placed in the custody of Child Protective Services.
The fire in the 8100 block of Lynn Drive, near Hobby Airport, was reported at 7:20 a.m. and extinguished by about 8:45 a.m., said Houston Fire Department Senior Capt. Kevin Alexander. The causes of the fire and of the child's death are not yet determined, he said.
People familiar with the daily routine of the mother and Gonzales said the children often were left alone for a time, said CPS spokeswoman Estella Olguin. She described it as "a daily occurrence, that the children were left alone for about 30 minutes between the time the boyfriend left for work and the mother arrived home."
The fire is believed to have started in a second-floor apartment of the fourplex, Alexander said, and the child was found near a bedroom.
Rachel Humphries, a neighbor who lives on the second floor, said she wanted to enter the apartment to save the girl but the blaze had engulfed the unit by the time she realized it was on fire.
"They couldn't find her for a long time," Humphries said. "She was underneath a lot of clothes."
The 6-year-old grabbed her sister and tried to pull her out of the burning apartment, Humphries said.
"But I think (Dazzalena) got so scared she ran back in the house and tried to find a comfort zone," she said.
About 1 p.m., firefighters carried her out of the apartment in a small body bag. Family and neighbors sobbed as workers wheeled her body into a Harris County Medical Examiner's Office vehicle.
A man identified by Sharma's relatives as the children's biological father was at the scene, looking at the apartment complex. He declined to comment.
Escobedo-Magos and other family members said he was in shock. The couple had another child, who died from natural causes four years ago, they said. The couple had been estranged, but were trying to get along for the sake of the children.
"They were changing for the girls," Escobedo-Magos said.
Olguin said CPS has contacted the father, who wants custody of his surviving child.
CPS workers are trying to verify identities of the children, their parents and others associated with the children so they can cull records or any previous complaints.
Olguin said calls to CPS about children being left alone are common, but situations in which a child as young as 6 is left with a toddler are rare.
"Certainly, leaving children these ages is too young," Olguin said.
A court hearing will determine if the biological father should get custody of his surviving daughter. Which court will be involved has not been determined, Olguin said.
3-year-old was left unsupervised in the apartment
By ROBERT CROWE
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle
Most mornings, after a long night working in a bottling plant, Tammie Sharma arrived home at about 7 a.m., just in time to wake up her daughters and take them to school. Usually, while Sharma was driving home, her live-in boyfriend was en route to his job in Baytown.
There was often a gap of 30 minutes or less when Sharma's two little girls, 3 and 6, were left alone.
On Thursday, that gap was enough time for a fire to break out in their apartment and take the life of the younger girl.
"I guess they just figured just a few minutes was not going to hurt. She's on her way home, so it really shouldn't make a big difference," said Aurelia Escobedo-Magos, a relative of Sharma's.
Dazzalena Escobedo died in the fire. Sharma and her boyfriend, Adrian Gonzales, who investigators said were not at home when the blaze started, were both arrested and charged with injury to a child by omission.
Divia Escobedo was placed in the custody of Child Protective Services.
The fire in the 8100 block of Lynn Drive, near Hobby Airport, was reported at 7:20 a.m. and extinguished by about 8:45 a.m., said Houston Fire Department Senior Capt. Kevin Alexander. The causes of the fire and of the child's death are not yet determined, he said.
People familiar with the daily routine of the mother and Gonzales said the children often were left alone for a time, said CPS spokeswoman Estella Olguin. She described it as "a daily occurrence, that the children were left alone for about 30 minutes between the time the boyfriend left for work and the mother arrived home."
The fire is believed to have started in a second-floor apartment of the fourplex, Alexander said, and the child was found near a bedroom.
Rachel Humphries, a neighbor who lives on the second floor, said she wanted to enter the apartment to save the girl but the blaze had engulfed the unit by the time she realized it was on fire.
"They couldn't find her for a long time," Humphries said. "She was underneath a lot of clothes."
The 6-year-old grabbed her sister and tried to pull her out of the burning apartment, Humphries said.
"But I think (Dazzalena) got so scared she ran back in the house and tried to find a comfort zone," she said.
About 1 p.m., firefighters carried her out of the apartment in a small body bag. Family and neighbors sobbed as workers wheeled her body into a Harris County Medical Examiner's Office vehicle.
A man identified by Sharma's relatives as the children's biological father was at the scene, looking at the apartment complex. He declined to comment.
Escobedo-Magos and other family members said he was in shock. The couple had another child, who died from natural causes four years ago, they said. The couple had been estranged, but were trying to get along for the sake of the children.
"They were changing for the girls," Escobedo-Magos said.
Olguin said CPS has contacted the father, who wants custody of his surviving child.
CPS workers are trying to verify identities of the children, their parents and others associated with the children so they can cull records or any previous complaints.
Olguin said calls to CPS about children being left alone are common, but situations in which a child as young as 6 is left with a toddler are rare.
"Certainly, leaving children these ages is too young," Olguin said.
A court hearing will determine if the biological father should get custody of his surviving daughter. Which court will be involved has not been determined, Olguin said.