NEW YORK(CBSNewYork) — Funerals were set to be held on Sunday for the seven brothers and sisters who were killed in a tragic Brooklyn fire.
Their mother and one surviving sibling remained hospitalized and were last known to be in critical condition.
When firefighters showed up at the Midwood home on Bedford Ave shortly after midnight on Saturday it was engulfed in flames.
As CBS2’s Ilana Gold reported, the home was engulfed in flames. The seven brothers and sisters trapped in their second floor bedrooms could not be saved.
Eliane Sasoon, 16, David, 12, Rivka, 11, Yeshuva, 10, Moshe, 8, Sara, 6, and 5-year-old Yaakob, were trapped inside.
“I was up in the back room upstairs. I hear screaming from a child, ‘mommy, mommy, help me,'” neighbor Andrew Rosenblatt said.
Those screams prompted Rosenblatt to call 911.
“The smoke and flames were horrible. They’re from both sides. It was a terrible thing,” he said through tears.
The children’s mother and teenage sister jumped out of a window to escape the burning home. The father was out of town for work.
“How they’re going to explain it to their children? How are they going to comprehend themselves?” neighbor Rose Insel said.
Investigators said a hot plate caused the fire. It was left on to keep food warm and somehow malfunctioned.
Hot plates are typically used during the Sabbath, something Assemblyman Dov Hikind said the Jewish community should reconsider for safety reasons.
“My daughter. she has six children. I was waiting for the Sabbath to be over so I could call her and tell her, ‘don’t use the hot plate again. I want to talk to you about it,'” Hikind said.
The outcome was so devastating that Mayor Bill De Blasio visited the home. He and other city leaders were trying to comfort the tight knot orthodox Jewish neighborhood, not struggling with an overwhelming loss.
“The children were so lovely. Whenever it snowed they would clean my walk without even telling me. I would give them lollipops and they were so happy with the lollipops,” Insel said.
No comments:
Post a Comment