CANNON FALLS, Minn. — Three children were critically burned and their mother seriously hurt in an apartment fire. The children — an infant, a toddler and a 7-year-old — were airlifted to a St. Paul hospital. Firefighters were called to Cannon Valley Apartments on First Street North about 1:15 p.m. Outside was the mother hemorrhaging from cuts trying to rescue the children. A firefighter smashed out a window, climbed into the burning apartment, and found one child in a bedroom and anther in the living room. He handed them out to police officer. Another firefighter found the third child in a second bedroom. At that point, the apartment was engulfed in flames. Oxygen and first aid were administered on-site, then the mother and children were transported to the Cannon Falls hospital. From there the children were airlifted 40 miles to Regions Hospital Burn Center in St. Paul. Meanwhile, other tenants had been evacuated safely to an emergency shelter for the Red Cross to arrange alternate housing.
