Free Press Staff

A toddler survived a four-story fall from a Burlington apartment building Wednesday, and police were investigating the circumstances of what they initially are classifying as an accident.

The girl, described by police as nearly 2 years old, was playing in a room at the Waterfront Housing complex on Lake Street at about 2:20 p.m. when she somehow went through a window screen and plummeted 40 feet, Lt. Matt Sullivan said.

The child landed on grass below and appeared to have suffered only a broken leg, Sullivan said. The girl's mother and a friend were in the apartment at the time of the fall.

“On the face of it, it appears accidental,” Sullivan said.

Burlington fire and rescue personnel rushed the toddler to the University of Vermont Medical Center, placing the girl first on a backboard. “That’s a good thing," Sullivan said. "That means the child is conscious.”

Burlington police were beginning their investigation by 2:50 p.m. Officers cordoned off the rear of the 40-unit building with yellow police tape as they worked.

Names of those involved were not immediately available.

The Waterfront Housing building opened about a decade ago and is owned and managed by the Champlain Housing Trust. The building includes rent-restricted and market-rate apartments and is fully occupied, said Chris Donnelly, the housing trust's director of community relations.

The trust was working to support the family, who are tenants of the building, Donnelly said. He added that the building meets or exceeds all safety regulations.

"These are apartments, and especially ones that we build, are heavily inspected," he said. "Whatever the specs are, we’re up to them or exceed them in many cases."

This story was first posted online on Sept. 21, 2016, and has been updated. Contributing: Dan D'Ambrosio and Adam Silverman of the Free Press.