Child services takes newborn from San Bernardino mother after apartment fire that claimed siblings' lives

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (KABC) -- Two San Bernardino parents are allegedly under investigation by Child Protective Services after their 2-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter were killed in an apartment fire.

The father, identified as Saul Leech, was also gravely injured, while their pregnant mother was in the hospital to give birth to a third child. The infant, who was born at St. Bernardine Medical Center in San Bernardino late Thursday afternoon, was later taken by child services.

The family had been living illegally in the San Bernardino apartment in the 260 block of West 14th Street.

Fire officials say the 2-year-old boy and 6-year-old girl were found unconscious behind the living room couch. Paramedics tried but were unable to revive the siblings. They were transported to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center, where they were pronounced dead.

The San Bernardino Police Department says the property was a foreclosure and had been boarded up just 10 days ago. The family had repeatedly been kicked out of the property, but kept coming back. Just last week, police removed the family from the house because of the fire danger it posed.

"The people in the property were there basically illegally, the electricity, water and gas had been turned off, however they had activated that again through illegal means," San Bernardino Police Lt. Rich Lawhead said.

The city had issued more than $100,000 in fines because of code violations at the property since 2009, authorities said.

San Bernardino police are saying the parents could face criminal charges if investigators determine their actions led to the death of their kids. No arrests have been made yet.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.