FW Man Arrested For Leaving Toddler In Smoke Filled Home
FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - A man is in jail after leaving a 17-month old baby alone in an apartment where a fire started.
Firefighter broke into the smoke filled Fort Worth apartment around 1:30 a.m.
They found the boy inside the Waters Landing Apartments, located in the 1000 block of Fringewood Drive, close to John T. White Road.
He was discovered in a bedroom underneath some covers. He started to cry after seeing the firefighters, officials said. MedStar took the toddler to Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth to be treated for smoke inhalation.
Officials at the scene stated that he will be okay.
The father, 34-year old Vincent Van Arsdale told police he'd left a pot on the stove while he drove his wife to work.
"They talked to him over on the side. He said man I left a pot on the stove and I just went out for a second, recalls neighbor Essie Maxberry." "He left a pot on the stove and the baby in the house. Why would you do that?? Where would you go and why would you leave a baby in the house? What was he thinking?"
Arsdale is charged with endangering a child, marijuana possession and had eight outstanding warrants.
Investigators confirmed that the child's mother was at work during the incident. She arrived at the scene soon after and has been speaking with police.
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