Man gets probation for leaving son alone before Fort Worth apartment fire

A father who left his toddler son alone in an apartment that caught fire in March was sentenced to two years of probation, according to Tarrant County criminal court records.

Vincent Van Arsdale, 35, of Fort Worth, also was placed on two years of probation for possession of marijuana, which was found on him when he returned to the apartment. The sentences will be served concurrently.

He was sentenced on Thursday in Criminal District Court No. 4.

Van Arsdale had told fire investigators that he had left his then 17-month-old son in a bedroom while he drove to his wife’s workplace on March 10.

Firefighters forced their way into the apartment and found the boy in a back bedroom under some covers, fire officials said. The toddler survived, and was taken to Cook Children’s Medical Center with injuries that were not considered life-threatening.

The parents showed up shortly after firefighters arrived at the Water’s Landing Apartments in the 1000 block of Fringewood Drive.

The fire was reported shortly after 1:30 a.m. on March 10.

Food left on a stove started the fire, and firefighters quickly extinguished it, fire officials said. Firefighters looked through the apartment and found the toddler, who began crying. No one else was there, fire officials said.

This story was originally published August 9, 2015 at 6:24 PM with the headline "Man gets probation for leaving son alone before Fort Worth apartment fire."