Boy and girl killed in fire early Sunday are 2 of 5 children to die in Milwaukee the past 48 hours

A boy and girl were killed in an early morning apartment fire Sunday on Milwaukee's northwest side, bringing to five the number of deaths of very young children in the city in less than 48 hours, authorities said.

Firefighters were called to a unit at the Woodlands apartments at 9031 N. Swan Road at 5:17 a.m. Sunday, Deputy Chief David Votsis said. The fire was upgraded to a second alarm at 5:21 a.m.

A 4-year-old boy and 2-year-old girl died in the fire, according to the Milwaukee County Medical examiner's office. An adult was injured in the blaze and taken to a hospital.

The complex was evacuated as firefighters battled the blaze, Votsis said. The fire was under control by 6:27 a.m. It destroyed one apartment, with fire spreading to an adjacent apartment.

The names of the children killed in the fire weren't immediately available from authorities.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, Votsis said. There's no property damage estimate yet, he said.

In a statement Sunday morning, the medical examiner's office said the two fire fatalities are among five deaths of children in Milwaukee in less than 48 hours that it has investigated.

In addition to the fire deaths, the medical examiner said it is looking into:

• The death of a two-month-old boy pronounced dead at 3:22 a.m. Sunday in the 5500 block of N. 42 St.  Initial reports indicate the infant was co-sleeping with an adult and another child, the medical examiner's office said.
• The death of a two-month-old girl, pronounced deceased on Saturday at 7:46 a.m. in the 6300 block of N. 91 St. In that case, initial reports also indicate the infant was co-sleeping with her parents in an adult bed.
• The death of a nine-month-old boy, who was pronounced dead Friday at 10:26 a.m. at the Aurora St. Luke’s Medical Center emergency room. The child was found unresponsive at home in the 1700 block of W. Forest Home Ave. An autopsy was performed Saturday and no trauma was found, the medical examiner's office said  A determination of the cause of death is pending further toxicology, the medical examiner's office said.