Father and four children suffer cardiac arrest after apartment couch fire

All of the victims are in critical, but stable, condition

The charred remains of an apartment in Indianapolis, Indiana, that caught fire and left and adult and five children suffering from cardiac arrest. The blaze reportedly began on the couch and spread throughout the unit (Indianapolis Fire Department)

An apartment fire in Indianapolis, Indiana caused cardiac arrest in a 28-year-old man and four children.

The fire broke out late Monday at an apartment on the city’s east side. Firefighters responded and managed to beat back the flames approximately a minute after their arrival, according to the Associated Press.

The man and the children — ages 1, 3, 12 and 14 — were found inside the apartment, unconscious.

The adult is the father to the 1 and 3-year-old girls, according to WISH-TV. The 14 and 12-year-old are both boys, though their relationship with the man is currently unclear.

Firefighters began CPR after finding them and eventually transported them to a nearby hospital for treatment.

Indianapolis Fire Department Battalion Chief Rita Reith told the AP that the fire began on a couch inside the apartment. She noted that burning couches can emit noxious chemicals.

She told the AP that the victims were asleep while the couch fire burned inside their house.

"We are just hoping for the best, and hoping that these little ones and adults that are in the apartment can survive what they dealt with tonight," she said.

The victims are currently in critical, but stable, condition, according to The Indy Star.