A family is mourning the life of a six year old boy who was killed in an apartment fire in Mercer County that forced more than a dozen people from their homes on Thursday.
Jayden Gotell Watkins was visiting his great-grandmother for the holidays when the fire struck.
Now, the family is surrounded by loved ones as they wrap their heads around what happened on Thursday, Jan. 3.
“I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t sleep because it plays back in the mind," Jayden's great-grandmother Dorothy Smith said.
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Smith told NBC10 that she is still in shock after the 2-alarm fire at Cambridge Hall apartment complex located at 860 Lower Ferry Road in Ewing, New Jersey, around 3 p.m.
Smith describes her great-grandson Jayden as a grandma's boy. The boy from Syracuse, New York, always visited her during the holidays and the summer.
“He was a good kid, very funny kid. He was smart," Smith said.
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When officers got to the 2 alarm fire at the apartment complex on Thursday, they were told that a young person was trapped on the fourth floor, officials said. The building was evacuated as officers tried to get to the apartment on the fourth floor where the fire started.
All three Ewing Fire Departments were eventually able to get to the apartment where they found and rescued the 6-year-old Jayden who was unresponsive, according to officials. He was taken to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Officials later reported that 13 police officers, 1 firefighter and 3 residents were among the victims who were taken to nearby hospitals to be treated for minor burns, smoke inhalation and exhaustion.
As the evening went on, NBC10 crews saw investigators focused for hours in what appeared to be a bedroom.
The American Red Cross told NBC10 that they are helping 16 people from 12 units who were impacted by the fire.
For now, Jayden's family is taking this loss day-by-day. Smith lost virtually everything in the fire and her family is asking for any kind of donations to help her get back on her feet.
If you'd like to make a donation to help Smith, you can drop off clothes and other essentials at MBM Fashion located at 1285 MLK Boulevard in Trenton, New Jersey.
It is not clear how this fire started, but it is not thought to be suspicious.
The fire is under investigation by the Ewing Police Department and the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office.
If you have any information, please contact Ewing Police Detective David Hartmann at 609-882-1313 extension 7544.
