By: Ray King

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A four-year-old child was killed in a fire on the southeast side of Pine Bluff Wednesday night and an 80 year old woman who was injured in a fire on March 27 died at a Little Rock hospital.

Fire and Emergency Services Chief Shauwn Howell said the fire Wednesday night occurred at a two-story house at 1000 Wisconsin Street and is still under investigation.

Jefferson County Coroner Chad Kelley confirmed the death and said the child was from Little Rock. The name has not been released.

According to Howell, the other family members were able to escape the blaze without injury and the Red Cross was notified to assist the family.

“With the Coronavirus on everybody’s mind and a loss of life from a fire, these are challenging times for the fire department,” Howell said.

He also said that a lot of information still needs to be gathered and thanked police officers, paramedics from EASI (Emergency Ambulance Service Inc.) and others who assisted fire and emergency services personnel at the scene.

ELDERLY PINE BLUFF WOMAN DIES FROM INJURIES IN FIRE FROM LAST WEEK

An elderly Pine Bluff woman who was injured in a fire at a residence on Smugglers Lane last week has died at a Little Rock hospital.

According to a press release from Pine Bluff Fire and Emergency Services Wednesday, firefighters were dispatched to 23 Smugglers Lane on March 27 for a residential structure fire with an elderly disabled female trapped inside.

Firefighters entered the house and found the 80-year-old woman in a bedroom and got her out of the burning house. She was taken to Jefferson Regional Hospital and then to Arkansas Children’s Hospital at Little Rock where she died Monday.

The name of the victim was not released.

The fire was determined to be accidental and caused by an unattended pot on the stove.