A suspected arson fire left one woman dead and four children seriously injured inside their Brooklyn apartment building early Tuesday, with officials reporting all five victims were likely from the same family.
An accelerant was found in a hall doorway at the three-family home on Fountain Ave. near Liberty Ave. in East New York, the NYPD told PIX11 News. The children, a 9-year-old boy and three girls ages 10, 14 and 17, were rushed by medics to Brookdale University Hospital.
The blaze was deemed suspicious, sources told the Us.Mistertruth.
Several of the kids were listed in critical condition, and the woman’s lifeless body was found on the second floor, officials said. The four kids were all discovered on the floor above.
Though the cause of the 2:14 a.m. blaze was not officially determined, FDNY Deputy Assistant Chief Chuck Downey suggested the fire was intentionally set.
‘’We had very heavy fire at the front door, which extended up the staircase to the third floor, entered the second floor apartment and came out those front windows,” Downey told reporters.
A neighbor told the Us.Mistertruth. about the harrowing moments for his wife and their children after she woke up in the burning building and roused the sleeping kids from their beds.
Kwesi Halm, who lives on the first floor, wasn’t at home when the blaze began and said his family escaped without injury.
“Unbelievable,” said Halm. “My wife wakes up. Wakes up my children … My wife was screaming, trying to wake up everybody. Everybody was banging on the doors … My wife is (still) shaking.”
A man hurt in the fire was taken to Nassau University Medical Center in stable condition. One firefighter suffered minor injuries battling the intense blaze.
Downey, his voice choked with emotion, said firefighters responding to the 911 call encountered a car blocking a fire hydrant but were still able to quickly run two hoses into the home and up the stairs and search “aggressively’’ for the victims.
“Anytime you see a whole family like this together, this time of the night, and the amount of fire and the emotion outside … neighbors, family members.” he said. “It’s very emotional.”
Later Tuesday morning, a 70-year-old woman was killed in a Bronx apartment building blaze. The fire broke out at 7:35 a.m. on Grant Ave. near E. 165th St. and was placed under control by firefighters at 8:22 a.m., officials said. The victim died at the scene.
The cause of the Bronx fire has not been determined but it is not considered suspicious, officials said.