MONTICELLO, NY — A fire in an apartment at Monticello Gardens on Sunday, February 5 took the life of a six-year-old girl.

The fire started in the kitchen of Kimberly Freer. Kimberly escaped, along with five of her seven children, one of whom had to be dropped from a balcony to a neighbor, Leon Mealing. One child was not at home at the time. The seventh, Victoria, six years old, perished in the blaze. Kimberly suffered second-degree burns on her back and shoulder trying to rescue her.