1 Child Dead, 5 Others Injured in 3-Alarm Brooklyn Fire

(WCBS 2)

Last night, an 8-year-old boy died after a fire broke out on the third floor of a two-family house in Midwood, at Avenue P and Coney Island Avenue. The boy's five siblings, ages 1 to 10, were injured in the blaze which apparently started from holiday candles—according to the Daily News, the children were inside the house while their parents "were eating dinner outside in a tent for the Simchat Torah holiday when they were startled by their children's cries for help." A witness said, "The children were screaming. The parents heard them, but it was too late."

The father rushed into the house to try to save them; he was able to bring them out but couldn't reach his 8-year-old. Firefighters tried to reach for the boy through the bedroom window's burglar bars; a witness told WABC 7, "They were trying to give him CPR, and you could see black foam in his mouth. And then all hell broke loose."

One witness told the Post, "I was around the corner when I heard an explosion and I started smelling smoke. I looked up and saw huge flames licking the sky coming from the middle of the house from the attic," while another said of the father, "I don't know how he made it out alive." A one-year-old girl in respiratory distress was taken to the hospital in critical condition while others were treated for non-life-threatening injuries. Four firefighters were injured in the blaze as well.

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By Jen Chung in News on September 30, 2010 8:55 AM

Comments [rss]

Gotham Extremist

Such sad news.......... but come on now folks, you leave a bunch of children unattended in a big house with lit candles, HELLO!?

Nyctini11

http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/09/29/2010-09-29_boy_8_dies_in_brooklyn_house_fire.html

Living with a rabbi, i don't think they have much choice, plus a 10yr old, and for that matter, all these children are exposed to holiday rituals, such as candles on a weekly basis and are also taught VERY early on, to stay away, they are not toys.

Gotham Extremist

Your/Their logic is a major fail. Why? same as saying to a kid don't play with a gun, its dangerous and and it could kill, but you still leave it out loaded, and HOPE the kid dont touch it. GREAT PARENTING!

Nyctini11

And you have all the answers, how? I am not defending their logic, i am stating facts, they are religious jews, they rent from a rabbi, there are certain rules they must follow. As far as your gun comment, maybe you're the bad parent, who can't teach their kids to listen. I was raised in a home with guns, 2 bro's also, we're all still here thankfully.

John L

Very sad and tragic.

Rest in peace 8 year old boy.

There's a lot of deaths in today's news, very depressing.

nicemarmot

How awful. My thoughts are with the family.

I've always wondered about those "safety bars" they force you to put over windows here when you have kids. Sure they keep the kid from falling out the window, but they may also keep the firefighters from rescuing people if there's a fire, or prevent them from being able to escape on their own.

Rocknrope

The safety bars on windows to keep kids from falling out aren't that big an issue - they're pretty light and, if necessary, pulled free by a firefighter with a prybar in seconds.

The bigger issue are the iron bars on windows on the first floor to keep people from breaking in. Those are solid and from what I've seen, usually cemented into the windowframe. From what I've read in the article, that's what caused firefighters trouble in this case.