Four children are in the custody of the Department of Children and Families after first responders rushed to a South Boston apartment last Saturday and found a person deceased on the floor from unknown causes, officials said Thursday.
In a one-sentence statement released Thursday by DCF spokeswoman Andrea Grossman, the child protection agency confirmed the children are now in its custody, but declined to disclose whether they are in foster care or whether DCF has had prior interactions with their families.
“The Department of Children and Families has taken custody of the children who live in the home,’' Grossman wrote. The agency declined further comment citing state and federal privacy laws.
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Boston police on Thursday night posted a statement saying that the four children each had a parent present in the apartment at 381 Old Colony Ave.
Governor Maura Healey briefly discussed the status of the children, who were discovered by first responders, including Boston firefighters, inside the apartment in the Mary Ellen McCormack housing development in South Boston. The development is managed by the Boston Housing Authority.
“Just heartbreaking. A terrible situation,” Healey told WCVB-TV on Wednesday. “DCF has taken those children into its care and custody right now.”
First responders rushed to the apartment shortly after 11 a.m. Saturday to investigate reports of a person suffering a health issue, according to a Boston police report.
Firefighters from Ladder 18 along with Boston Emergency Medical Services were already in the apartment, trying to resuscitate the woman lying on the floor of the unit, according to the police report.
“The victim’s friends/associates contacted police when they observed the victim not breathing,” police wrote in a report provided to the Globe.
Those rescue efforts were unsuccessful and she was declared dead at 11:41 a.m., police said. The Office of Chief Medical Examiner took custody of the body and no cause of death has been publicly stated yet.
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Police did not summon homicide detectives to the scene of what is currently considered as sudden death. But other detectives did “respond to the residence to photograph the scene as part of the investigation,” police said in Thursday night’s statement.
The adults “were fully cooperative with the Boston Police Officers who responded,” the statement said.
The name of the deceased was redacted in the police report. However, the report indicated the 28-year-old woman did not live in the apartment.
According to police, parents and officers took steps to see protect the children from seeing the body. They “felt it was best for the children to stay in another room with one of the parents,” the statement said.
The Boston Housing Authority said in a statement it is cooperating with police investigators.
“The Boston Housing Authority is working closely with the Boston Police Department as they continue to investigate the circumstances around the recent death at Mary-Ellen McCormack. BHA received no complaints about activity in this unit prior to the incident, but we care deeply about the safety of all our residents and are working actively with the agencies involved to take all appropriate follow-up action. BHA has a strong partnership with BPD and communicates with them often. The only call BHA received this year about this unit was for a routine maintenance issue in May, which was responded to appropriately at that time.”
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The first report filed by arriving police officers makes no mention of children being in the home last Saturday. However, on Sunday, police created a supplemental report and filed a 51A, a report of possible abuse or neglect, with the DCF “regarding conditions in the home.” DCF is required to investigate 51A allegations.
Boston City Councilor at Large Michael Flaherty said firefighters who responded on Saturday were appalled by the conditions inside the apartment and that they were deeply concerned about the healthy and safety of the children.
Firefighters told him there were four children and at least five adults in the apartment on Saturday, Flaherty said.
“They walk in and they see somewhat of an unsanitary and unsafe situation is how they described it,’' he said. “In general, it wasn’t good.”
The firefighters also filed 51A reports with the DCF, according to Flaherty.
In its statement, Boston police disputed the assertion that conditions were not safe.
“Information that drugs and other concerning materials were strewn about the home is not supported by what officers encountered or by the information received on scene,” the statement said.
In a statement, the Boston Housing Authority said there were no previous complaints or issues with the tenant in the unit. Citing state and federal privacy laws, the agency declined to provide any details on the number of people who lived there. The BHA said it is cooperating with the police investigation.
“BHA received no complaints about activity in this unit prior to the incident, but we care deeply about the safety of all our residents and are working actively with the agencies involved to take all appropriate follow-up action,” the statement said.
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The agency said that the “only call BHA received this year about this unit was for a routine maintenance issue in May, which was responded to appropriately at that time.”
John R. Ellement can be reached at john.ellement@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @JREbosglobe.