Officials: 2 Lynn kids scalded in tub

LYNN – A neighbor of the two boys burned by hot water Wednesday morning said the adult attending to the children may have left them alone long enough for one of them to turn a bathtub faucet.
District Fire Chief Stephen Archer said the details of circumstances remain under investigation, however. He said an 18-month old child had burns over 50 percent of its body, and a 3-year-old had burns on 80 percent of its body, including the groin and upper torso. The children were taken by helicopter to the Boston hospital at 7:14 a.m.
Charles Collins, a 263 Essex St. resident, said the boys live with their father in one of the building?s apartment across the hall from the apartment where Collins? and his son, Charles?, apartment. Collins said his son was getting the boys “ready for daycare” and crossed the hallway to his apartment to use the bathroom. Collins said when his son returned to the boys? apartment, the older child had turned on the hot water.
?He heard them screaming,” Collins said.
The incident occurred, Archer said, at an apartment building at 263 Essex St. A male adult was home at the time of the incident but, he said, “We don?t know the circumstances.”
The apartment house is near the Ingalls Elementary School and the Fayette Street fire station.
Archer said Lynn emergency personnel took the children to Lynn English High School where helicopters waited to take them to Boston.The Daily Item staff is at the scene of this breaking story and will have further details as they become available. Check back with Itemlive.com throughout the day for the latest.