Mother dies day after 3-year-old son killed in apartment fire, officials say

PHOENIX (KPHO/Gray News) - Authorities in Arizona say a mother and her young child have died after their apartment caught fire this week.

KPHO reports that the fire happened at the Cypress Apartments, about 30 minutes away from downtown Phoenix, on Wednesday afternoon.

Investigators said 37-year-old Ashley Sutter and her 3-year-old son, Maximus, were inside the apartment when the fire started.

Crews arrived to find heavy smoke and flames coming from a ground-floor unit and immediately upgraded the call for additional crews to respond.

Officials said it was a fast-moving fire that spread quickly to the second and third floors of the building.

Once the fire was extinguished, firefighters found Maximus dead inside the apartment.

Sutter was found in critical condition, suffering from burns and smoke inhalation. She was rushed to the hospital but died on Thursday.

A man who tried to get into the burning apartment before firefighters arrived was also hurt, along with two firefighters who suffered minor burns.

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