3 children, 1 adult killed in fire at Bronx family's home
NEW YORK -- There was heartbreak in the Bronx on Sunday after officials say four people, including three children, died in a fire on Quimby Avenue.
CBS2's Hannah Kliger has the latest developments from the Castle Hill section of the borough.
The more we learn about this fatal fire, the more devastating the story becomes. As of Sunday night, we learned from a family friend that the victims who died in the inferno included a 22-year-old father, his 10-month-old daughter, and two brothers.
The screams were gut wrenching. Fire officials say just after 6 a.m. they arrived at 2165 Quimby Ave., where they saw flames spilling out of the windows of the house. Merlyn Persaud, who has lived in the neighborhood for nearly two decades, said she'll never forget what she heard.
"I heard the noise, 'Allah, Allah,' the banging at the window. I jumped, was sleeping on the couch, came to the window, the hands banging at the window. 'Allah, Allah.' After that, for like a minute the flames burst through the window," Persaud said.
Police say two children, a 10-year-old and 12-year-old boy were pronounced dead at the scene.
Four others were rushed to the hospital, including a 22-year-old man and 10-month-old baby girl, both of whom also died of their injuries. Fire officials say the fire quickly began to spread.
"We did have slight extension to the building next to the fire building. We have several firefighter injuries, minor in nature," FDNY Assistant Chief Kevin Brennan said.
The neighbor living next door recalled helping to rescue a mother and child -- a family he knows well. Their children used to play together.
"I came out to the front of my house and open the window. I grabbed her and her child and put her inside. Then I took them downstairs, then told my family to run downstairs," Imlaque Chowdhury said.
Police said a 21-year-old woman and 41-year-old man were also pulled out of the inferno, rushed to NYC Health + Hospitals Jacobi in critical condition.
"I see them every day. I play with them. This touched me too much," a Castle Hill resident said.
On Sunday afternoon, Mayor Eric Adams visited the remains of the home and promised to help the community recover.
"We are going to be here for the family to make sure we can assist with all the burials and all the support they need at this time," Adams said.
Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson said more should be done to prevent tragedies like this.
"We had a horrific fire a few months ago in Unionport, one is Westchester. I mean, this is ongoing. We have fires in this borough almost every single week, and certainly any fire is one too many," Gibson said. "We have to learn from so many other painful lessons from the past, of making sure we have smoke detectors that are working. October is Fire Safety Awareness Month, but it needs to be every single month."
"I think the goal is to make sure we do whatever is possible to prevent fires throughout the entire city, and the more information we give, the more information we share, the more proactive we are, the better chances we have to do that," Adams added.
The family members are part of the Yemeni community here. Loved ones are now working to console the surviving family members and planning funeral arrangements.
"This is like family. We are all together. We will do whole support to finalize everything," family friend Nagib Amdaylam said.
The flames also severely damaged a house next door. A man who walked into the home on Sunday afternoon told CBS2's Tim McNicholas he was gathering the belongings of a family friend, someone who survived the fire and is now staying elsewhere.
The cause of this fire is still under investigation, but CBS2 saw faith leaders come and leave candles and balloons, and share their condolences with this family. There are certainly a lot of people in this community feeling the family's pain.
