2 young children, mother injured in car fire in Wilmington, Delaware, fire department says

WILMINGTON, Del. (CBS) -- A mother and her two children -- an 8-month-old and a 5-year-old -- were injured in a car fire in Wilmington, Delaware, the city's fire department said on Monday night.

In a news release, Robert F. Pryor, the battalion chief of the Wilmington Fire Department, said crews responded to the intersection of A and South Walnut streets at about 7:30 p.m. for the report of an automobile fire with children trapped in the car.

The children were pulled from the burning vehicle by employees of a nearby auto shop and taken to Nemours Children's Trauma Center, where they were both placed in serious condition. They each suffered extensive second and third-degree burns, Pryor said.

The mother of the children escaped the burning vehicle, according to Pryor. She was taken to the Christiana Trauma Center with "extensive" second and third-degree burns, Pryor said.

Delaware's Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control was called to the scene due to a fuel spill from the car, Pryor said.

It's unclear how the vehicle caught on fire.