Authorities identify 4 family members, including 3 children, killed in Bronx fire

NEW YORK -- The names of the man and three children killed in a house fire Sunday in the Bronx have been released. 

Meanwhile, investigators are still on the scene trying to determine the cause. 

As CBS2's Natalie Duddridge reported Monday, the community is shifting from shock to how it can support the surviving family members. 

"Heartbroken, because I'm a mother of four. I'm a mother of four, and just to hear that a 10-month-old, 10, 12, it's heartbreaking," neighbor Norma Rivera told Duddridge. 

Neighbors stopped to pay their respects at a memorial outside the home, where four candles honor the lives lost. 

Police identified the family members killed as 22-year-old Ahmed Saleh and his 10-month-old baby girl Barah Saleh. Two young brothers, 12-year-old Mohamed Waleed Ahmed and 10-year-old Kalheed Waleed Ban Saleh, were also killed. 

"I would just see them, the kids, when we would come from school at 2:30 or 3. We'd pass by, they'll see each other with my kids. They'll play and talk," Rivera said. 

The fire broke out around 6 a.m. Sunday at the home on Quimby Avenue. 

"I thought it was in my house," said Rivera. "I was smelling the smoke, I jumped up, I started banging on everybody's door in my house -- There's 'smoke, smoke, smoke!' I went to my daughter's room, it wasn't her room. We looked out the window, it was black, it was smoke all over."

Security cameras across the street captured the panicked screams for help. 

"You could see through the window, the hands banging at the window, 'Hey Allah, hey Allah!'" neighbor Merlyn Persaud said. "After that for like a minute, flames burst through the window."

Neighbors said they saw two people leap from that first-floor roof.

"I look at the window, I see the men and women on the landing," a woman said.

She says after the man jumped down, he tried to rescue his relatives.

"He was trying to kick the door. My sister got there. She came running back to the house to get a hammer for him. The dad was trying to hammer down the door," she said.

Firefighters tried to rescue the trapped family members. Police said a 21-year-old woman and 41-year-old man were pulled out in critical condition and are still fighting for their lives in the hospital. 

The FDNY set up on the corner Monday handing out free smoke detectors. 

"We're here to educate people, teach them about the dos and the don'ts," said Capt. Gerald Rocco. "You can call the Red Cross -- 877-RED-CROSS. They will come to your house, see what you need, and install what you need absolutely free."

Community members have also been arriving with supplies. 

"We're here to help if the parents or families who have survived, need anything. We're here to see if they need toiletries, if they need blankets, whatever they need," P.S. 138 Parent Association President Jacquelyn Jarvis said. 

The building has been deemed unsafe to re-enter and there is still no word on what caused the fire, or if there were functioning smoke detectors. A safety awareness campaign is being planned across the borough. 

In:
• Bronx
• Fire