FDNY Distributes Smoke Alarms After Deadly Brooklyn Fire
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The FDNY handed out free smoke detectors Sunday at the scene of a fire that killed an elderly couple in Brooklyn.
Investigators say the home at East 49th Street and Church Avenue in East Flatbush did not have working smoke alarms.
The fire started around 5:30 a.m. Saturday. Lord Kinard, 76, and Octavia Kinard, 71, got trapped in the upstairs bedroom and could not escape, CBS2's Ilana Gold reported.
A neighbor got a ladder and rescued their daughter, who was screaming for help. Her 19-year-old son jumped from a window. Police say he has bad burns across his body.
Investigators say a power cord in the dining room caused the fire.
Neighbors said they are shaken up.
"This could happen in a (apartment) building, too, not only in a private house," said Yvette Rizvi, who said she regularly checks her smoke alarms.
"I'm so shocked. My heart goes out to the family, and I have them in prayers," one woman told WCBS 880's Eric Adams.
Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams and the FDNY were near the scene teaching the community how to properly use extension cords and distributing the smoke detectors to anyone who needs them.
"We do not want the holiday seasons of lights to be replaced with the lights of emergency vehicles responding to a fire," Adams said.
Adams said inexpensive power cords are sold all over the city.
"But that cheap purchase can turn into a very hazardous and dangerous condition," he said.