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3-Year-Old Rescued From Durham Apartment Fire

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DURHAM, N.C. — A 3-year-old child is in critical condition after a Durham firefighter pulled her from a burning apartment late Saturday night.

Firefighters were called to the fire at Pinecrest Apartments at 512 Hardee St. shortly after 11 p.m. Two adults and three other children had escaped.

"When we arrived, a lady grabbed me by the arm and said, 'My baby's in the living room,'" said Durham firefighter James Cole, one of several firefighters who went inside the blazing building to search for Zacheria Singletary.

Singletary was found face down in the second-floor living room, not breathing. Firefighters pulled her to safety and revived her.

She was taken to Duke Medical Center, where she was being treated in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit Sunday afternoon.

Only one apartment was burned in the eight-unit building, but a second apartment sustained extensive water damage. No other units were damaged.

The fire is still under investigation, but friends of the family told WRAL that they believe the apartment's electricity had been cut off and that candles started the fire. It was not immediately clear if smoke detectors were in the apartment.

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