This morning, Governor Eliot Spitzer met with the families of victims from Wednesday's fire that killed ten people - nine children and one adult. Yesterday, 6-year-old Hassing Soumare, Mamadou Soumare's daughter and his last surviving relative after his three other children died with their mother, died from her injuries. He and his cousin Moussa Magassa, who owned the four-story building where the fire occured, prepared for funerals with other family members and friends. Magassa lost five children in the fire.
As villagers in Mali are crying over the tragedy, the Bronx community of Highbridge has banded together, taking up donations of money, toys, and blankets. A Long Island contractor has even offered to donate his services to help rebuild the home.
And, as the FDNY investigates the fire which was started by a space heater overheating, some details have emerged about what happened when the fire was noticed. The fire occurred in Magassa's niece's garden level room, and she tried to douse it with water. There may have been a delay of five minutes between the fire's start and when she made a 911 call.
