Cause Of Deadly Queens House Fire Remains Unclear
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A Queens family was in a state of unimaginable grief Monday, as investigators tried to determine the cause of a house fire in Queens that killed five people, including two young boys and two teenage girls.
Neighbors, friends and loved ones brought flowers and balloons Monday to the burned home on 208th Street in Queens where five young lives – ages 2 to 20 – were taken away from a raging fire Sunday afternoon.
"I'm just here to pay my respects," one woman told 1010 WINS' Glenn Schuck. "To know that we lose five lives in the daytime, I just want to know what I can learn from this when it comes to safety even for my own family."
"No one should have to bury their child," another man said.
As CBS2's Hazel Sanchez reported, the victims were all kids in a way – some of them with dreams to become lawyers, others too young even to dream. But they all lived in one house that has now been blackened and badly burned, as neighbors wonder why they couldn't get out alive.
The victims were identified as Chayce Lipford, 2; Rashawn Matthews, 9; Melody Edwards, 17; Jada Foxworth, 16; and Destiny Dones, 20.
Edwards' father, Glen Ford Edwards, came to the scene Monday looking for Edwards.
"I just don't believe it. I just don't believe it. I don't know how to explain it," he said. "I just lost my baby. I just lost my last child. I just lost my baby."
On Monday evening, there were prayers and hugs along with balloons and candles, as Edwards' heartbroken mother made her own first visit to the tragic scene.
"She was bright," said Rosetta Edwards. "She was our lawyer."
As CBS2's Brian Conybeare reported, Rosetta Edwards choked back tears as she talked about her daughter, whom she described as bright, beautiful and friendly.
"I was preparing for her prom and her graduation and her acceptance into SUNY Purchase," Rosetta Edwards said. "I did not know my child was going to die in a fire."
Victim Foxworth was a member of the cheerleading team at the Young Women's Leadership School in Jamaica, Queens. The squad was featured on CBS2 News in December after they earned a bid to compete in the national championship at Disney World.
"It's just a tragedy. You don't believe that it really happened," said Foxworth's cheerleading coach, Abi Corbin.
Corbin spent Monday consoling teammates who could not believe Foxworth was suddenly gone.
"Her light still shines. Her smile lit up the room," Corbin said. "Her smile made you not realize what else was going on, so that's how we're going to remember her."
Family members said Chayce, the youngest victim, had just celebrated his second birthday, CBS2's Janelle Burrell reported.
An aunt said his mother was on vacation and had left her son in the care of relatives, WCBS 880's Marla Diamond reported.
"She is a good mother," she said. "She is always with her baby and she went, for the first one, on an airplane though. It was the first time she was away from her baby. She just got off. She just found out. Just pray for the family."
And now, neighbors like Carletta Cantres said they will be haunted by the memories, seeing some of the young victims screaming from a second-floor window desperate for help.
"I was watching as the house was burning, and I saw the people in the top window and the attic windown, and I'm looking, and I'm like -- you guys can't jump, you guys can't jump," Cantres said. "And that I didn't see them after that."
"It's like something you see in a horror movie," said family friend Johnny Mack. "I've never seen a house burnt like that."
Isaac Oswald Stubbs considers all the victims family.
"Things like this are not supposed to happen like that," he said.
Fire and arson investigators remained at the home Monday afternoon trying to figure out what caused the fire.
"Our fire marshals are investigating. They've been there all night and they're there now," said Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro. "They will find out what started this fire and where it started."
Nigro said it does not appear that a car in the driveway started the fire and said so far, they have not found any smoke detectors, 1010 WINS' Sonia Rincon reported.
Stubbs said tragically, Dajuana Green – Rashawn's mother – was actually making safety changes on Sunday.
"She was literally out buying smoke detectors for the house when the house caught fire," Stubbs said.
The fire broke out around 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Fire officials say it was a person driving by who saw the smoke and then saw 46-year-old Maurice Matthews – the father of victim Rashawn – jumping out of the house. That driver called 911.
By the time crews got to the scene, the home was engulfed in flames and some of victims were trapped in the attic.
"They knew there were people inside and we know that the firefighters on the scene did all that they could and more to try to save these children," Nigro said.
Neighbor Benjamin Gordon helped catch Matthews.
"And we're like: 'Jump! Jump! Jump!' He falls into the guy's arms. We grab him. We grab them, and I fall like this and we grab him and, he's like: 'The kids! The kids!'" Gordon said.
Matthews was the sole survivor of the fire.
"It was a fire that moved very, very quickly, and the loss was horrendous,'' said Mayor Bill de Blasio on Sunday. "This is the devastation of a family,'' he said, adding: "There's a lot we need to know about what happened here.''
So many here are now desperate to know why the FDNY was not alerted sooner and what could have ignited the deadly flames.
"Of course we want those answers, the fire department and OEM wants those answers," said Queens Borough President Melinda Katz on Monday. "No one has seen this kind of devastating fire in Queens in, I can't remember how long."
Former FDNY Deputy Chief Jim Bullock discussed some possibilities for what the cause might have been.
"It's possible it started in boiler. The boiler is a source of heat and flame," he said. "It could be electrical, these types of fire, and if there was a lot of combustible around where the electrical problem was, the fire would spread."
Bullock said there will be a painstaking investigation, picking apart every inch of the home. He said the layout of the home and the victims' locations could play a huge role in why they did not survive.
"In a one- or two-family home, there's usually only a front door out and maybe another back door from the kitchen," he said. "There is no way out from the second and third floor."
But family members said all they can ask for now is prayers to survive their unthinkable heartache.
"You're not supposed to question God," added Sheneer Bailey, a relative of the victims. "But we're
speechless."
As the investigation continues, the FDNY was handing out free smoke detectors and batteries to residents Monday as Red Cross and FEMA volunteers go door to door offering counseling.
A neighboring home also caught fire, but no one was inside. Four firefighters suffered minor injuries.
