By Dan Hust
MONTICELLO — What officials think was an accidental kitchen fire tragically took the life of a six-year-old girl Sunday night.
According to the Monticello Police Department, the girl and her family were inside apartment number 61 at Monticello Garden Apartments on Moon Manor Road when the fire broke out around 9:30 p.m. Sunday.
An unofficial source listed the girl as Victoria Erickson. All but Erickson were able to escape, some jumping off the apartment’s second-story balcony.
The Monticello Fire Department and neighboring companies quickly arrived, only to find the apartment already fully engulfed.
When the blaze was extinguished, firefighters and police found Erickson’s body inside the living room.
The girl’s mother, unofficially identified as Kimberly Freer, and a three-year-old boy were taken by MobileMedic to CRMC in Harris to be treated for smoke inhalation. There were no other injuries.
The Red Cross is assisting the family and several neighbors who were displaced by the fire.
Police and the Sullivan County Bureau of Fire continue to investigate the tragedy, but no foul play is suspected.