Cobb County firefighters rescued two children from a smoke-filled apartment Wednesday morning after they were left alone while their mother went to work, according to police.
Firefighters responding to a neighbor's call found heavy smoke engulfing an apartment in the Whisper Woods apartment complex in Austell shortly after 8 a.m., Officer Mike Bowman with Cobb County police said Wednesday afternoon.
After hearing someone crying in the unit, firefighters broke down the door and rescued two children.
The youngsters, whose names and ages were not released, were transported to WellStar Kennestone Hospital, where they were treated for smoke inhalation and released, Bowman said.
But instead of being released to their mother, the children were placed in the state custody, according to police.
The smoke originated from burning food in a pot on the stove, Lt. Dan Dupree with the Cobb Fire Department told the AJC. The apartment's smoke detector was working, but apparently didn't immediately wake the children, he said.
Mercedes Guadalupe Bahena told police she left her two children sleeping while she went to work, Bowman said. "She added that she had been cooking prior to leaving and had accidentally left her stove turned on," the police spokesman said.
Bahena, 38, was arrested and charged with two counts each of child deprivation and reckless conduct, all misdemeanors, according to Cobb County jail records. She was being held Wednesday afternoon on $5,000 bond.
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