A small fire on a couch left a 28-year-old man and four children hospitalised in a critical condition, authorities have confirmed.
Firefighters responded to reports of a fire in a first-floor apartment in Indianapolis at around 10pm local time (3am UK time) on Monday.
The fire was quickly extinguished but a man and four children, aged 1, 3, 12 and 14, were found unconscious after having suffered cardiac arrest.
Firefighters immediately performed CPR on the five victims. They were all transported to a hospital, where they remain in a critical, but stable, condition.
The blaze started on a couch in the apartment, as seen in the pictures and it was brought under control within a minute of the firefighters' arrival.
Battalion Chief Rita Reith said the fire was "negligible", however, burning couches can emit dangerous chemicals and the fumes likely affected the victims in their sleep.
She noted: "There was literally such little fire to it. It’s now going to be under investigation. It was so absolutely quick because the fire was almost negligible. They hit it really quick, and it was out."
The cause of the fire is unknown as of now, but an investigation is ongoing to determine it.
As part of the probe, the Indianapolis Fire Department is looking into why there were no working smoke alarms inside that apartment.
The complex told investigators that a smoke alarm there was checked two weeks ago, Fox News reported.
It is unclear why the alarm didn't sound, but the chief firefighter noted: "We do know that there was a working smoke alarm in the common hallway of that apartment building."
Explaining how the victims were affected, State Fire Marshal Steve Jones said that the reaction time in any fire usually needs to be less than two minutes.
He said: "Smoke puts you in a deeper sleep and so if those doors are open and you don’t hear the alarm, you typically don’t wake up coughing, the typical thing is it’s going to put you unconscious."
Jones stressed that it is imperative families form an escape plan in the event of a fire and hold fire drills, especially with children.
He added: "To make for sure [the children] understand how to get out, staying out and then have a common meeting place outside because whenever the fire department shows up, that’s the first thing we want to know, is everybody out".
Reith added: "At this time, we are just hoping for the best, and hoping that these little ones and the adults that are in that apartment can survive what they dealt with."
The 28-year-old is the father of the 1-year-old and 3-year-old girls, WISH-TV reported.
The 14-year-old and 12-year-old are boys.
The mother of the four children was not at home during the fire but met investigators at a hospital.
