2017 — Dec 28, Fire, boy, 3, playing with stove, apartment bldg., Belmont, Bronx, NY– 13

2017 — Dec 28, Fire, boy, 3, playing with stove, apartment bldg., Belmont, Bronx, NY– 13

–13 Daily News, NYC. “Space heater sparks deadliest NYC fire in decades…” 1-9-2022.*
–12 NYT. “Boy Playing With Stove Caused Bronx Fire That Killed 12.” 12-29-2017.
–12 NYT. “Bronx Fire, City’s Deadliest in Decades, Kills at Least 12…Injures More,” 12-28-2017.

*Daily News 2022: “On Dec. 28, 2017, a fire started by a boy playing with a stove raged through an apartment building at 2363 Prospect Ave. in Belmont, killing four children and eight adults. A 13th victim died at the hospital several days later.”

Narrative Information

Dec 28: “At least 12 people were killed when a fire fueled by gusty winds tore through a century-old apartment building in the Bronx on a frigid Thursday night, New York City officials said. It was the deadliest fire in the city in more than a quarter-century. In addition to the deaths, four people were critically injured and two people sustained non-life-threatening injuries, Mayor Bill de Blasio said at a news conference late Thursday. The youngest among the dead was 1 year old, the oldest over 50….

“The first emergency call came at 6:51 p.m. for a fire in a five-story apartment building at 2363 Prospect Avenue in the Belmont neighborhood, a spokesman for the New York City Fire Department said. The department responded in three minutes, the mayor said, and firefighters were able to rescue 12 people.

“The fire began on the first floor but quickly spread throughout the building, as the wind fed oxygen to the flames. The people who died were on various floors, the fire commissioner, Daniel A. Nigro, said.

“The blaze grew to five-alarm status, and more than 160 firefighters responded. By the time Mr. de Blasio spoke, around 10 p.m., the flames had been brought under control….

“It was a bitterly cold night, with temperatures in the teens, and the wind chill made it feel below zero. Water leaking from fire hoses froze in streaks on the concrete, and displaced residents walked around draped in American Red Cross blankets. Three young girls were whisked into a neighboring building after climbing down a fire escape with no shoes or coats….

“Luz Hernandez said she first realized something was wrong when the smell of burning rubber filled her apartment on the fourth floor, followed by smoke so thick that the room turned pitch-black. She summoned her husband and two sons, 11 and 16, to the window, and they descended the front fire escape as smoke rose near them. Later, Ms. Hernandez said in Spanish, she saw the charred bodies of two women who lived together and their two young daughters being carried away on stretchers….

“Thieron Diallo, 59, a Guinean immigrant who lived in a basement apartment, said the tenants of the building — a five-story walk-up near East 187th Street, close to the Bronx Zoo — were a diverse set, including Africans, West Indians and Hispanics.

“The building, constructed of plaster and brick, was not fireproof. It was built in 1916 and had more than 20 units, according to property records. City records appeared to indicate that as of Thursday, the building had six open violations, including one for a defective smoke detector on the first floor. That was the floor where the fire began, Commissioner Nigro said.

“The 12 confirmed fatalities made the fire the deadliest since an inferno at the Happy Land social club — less than a mile from Thursday’s blaze — killed 87 people in 1990. It surpassed the toll from a fire a decade ago, in March 2007, when an overheated cord to a space heater caused a fire that tore through a four-story house in the Bronx and killed 10 people, nine of them children.” (New York Times (Maggie Astor and Ashley Southall). “Bronx Fire, City’s Deadliest in Decades, Kills at Least 12 and Injures More, 12-28-2017.

Dec 29: “A Bronx fire that killed 12 people was caused by a 3-year-old boy playing with the burners on a stove, the authorities said on Friday [Dec 29]….

“The blaze…which killed four children in the five-story building…

“The boy playing with the stove in a first-floor apartment screamed when the fire began, sending his mother rushing into the kitchen as it filled with smoke and flames, Mr. Nigro said. She ran out of the apartment with the boy and a 2-year-old child, but left the door open, allowing fire to shoot out of the kitchen and into the stairwell, Mr. Nigro said. ‘Fire travels up,’ Mr. Nigro said. ‘The stairway acted like a chimney.’

“The passageway filled with smoke and flames, blocking some people from running downstairs and killing others who tried. When firefighters arrived, about three minutes after the first 911 calls, as many as 20 people were scurrying down the fire escape, Mr. Nigro said.

“The dead included Karen Stewart-Francis, 37; and her two daughters, Kylie Francis, 2, and Kelly Francis, 7; and her niece Shawntay Young, 19. They were part of a family from Jamaica that had 13 members living in the building, said Ms. Stewart-Francis’s mother, Ambrozia Stewart. Her son-in-law, Holt Francis, was in a coma at Jacobi Medical Center, Ms. Stewart said….

“None of the names of the others who died have been released. They included a 1-year-old girl, a boy whose age was not given, a 63-year-old woman and a man who died at the scene, and another woman and three men who were pronounced dead at hospitals.

“Four people remained hospitalized with critical injuries, “fighting for their lives right now,” Mr. de Blasio said….

“The building had open violations for a broken smoke detector and carbon monoxide detector in a first-floor apartment, according to city records….

“The boy who started the fire had a history of turning on the burners, Mr. Nigro said. Mr. Nigro said the department gets 75 to 100 referrals a year about children that have issues with playing with or being fascinated by fire. He stressed that if there is a fire, people need to close their apartment door as they leave to keep flames from spreading….” (NYT/Benjamin Mueller and Vivian Wang. “Boy Playing With Stove Caused Bronx Fire That Killed 12.” 12-29-2017.)

Dec 29: “….The bodies of Maria Batiz, 56, and her 8-month-old granddaughter Amora Serenity Vidal were found clutching each other in a third-floor apartment bathtub where they sought shelter from the flames. The other unidentified victims, at least three of them men, were found in hallways and the building’s lone stairwell, the FDNY source said….

“The 3-year-old boy, who had a history of playing with the burners, was alone in the kitchen when he started turning the jets on and off, said Nigro….The mother and both children made it out alive….

“The apartment house was sold by the city for $31,029 in December 1983, five years after the property was seized for non-payment of taxes….” (NY Daily News (Shrier, Marcius, Tracy). “Toddler playing with stove accidentally started Bronx blaze that killed 12 people.” 12-29-2017.)

Dec 30: “….Late Friday [Dec 29], NYPD revealed the identities of several others killed in [the] fire: Shantay Young, 19; Karen Francis, 37; Kylie Francis, 2; and Charmela Francis, 7. The victims yet to be identified include a 63-year-old woman, four adult men and a mile child, the New York Police Department said….” (KTLA 5, Los Angeles. “Loved Ones Grapple With Grief After Fatal Bronx Apartment Fire.” CNN Wire, 12-30-2017.)

Fatalities

Batiz, Maria, 58.
Donkor, Hannah, 17.
Donkor, Solomon, 49.
Donkor, William (age unknown).
Francis, Karen, 37.
Francis, Kelesha “Kelly, 7.
Francis, Kylie, 2.
Mensah, Emmanuel, 28.
Opoku, Justice, 49.
Sarkookie, Garbriel, Yaw, 48.
Vidal, Amora Serenity, 7-months.
Young, Shantay, 19.

(WABC-TV (ABC7NY). Here’s shat we know about the victims of the Bronx apartment building fire.” 12-30-2017.)
Sources

Daily News, NYC. “Space heater sparks deadliest NYC fire in decades killing at least 19 Bronx building residents, nine of them children.” 1-9-2022. Accessed 1-9-2022 at: https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/ny-bronx-fire-apartment-building-20220109-g72gp7yowvdqhg6sn3j7pksj2e-story.html

KTLA 5, Los Angeles. “Loved Ones Grapple With Grief After Fatal Bronx Apartment Fire.” CNN Wire, 12-30-2017. Accessed 12-30-2017 at: http://ktla.com/2017/12/30/loved-ones-grapple-with-grief-after-fatal-bronx-apartment-fire/

New York Daily News (Adam Shrier, Chelsia Rose Marcius, Thomas Tracy). “Toddler playing with stove accidentally started Bronx blaze that killed 12 people.” 12-29-2017. Accessed 12-29-2017 at: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/child-playing-stove-ignited-bronx-fire-killed-12-people-article-1.3725603

New York Times (Benjamin Mueller and Vivian Wang). “Boy Playing With Stove Caused Bronx Fire That Killed 12.” 12-29-2017. Accessed 12-29-2017 at: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/29/nyregion/deadliest-bronx-fire-children-12-dead.html

New York Times (Maggie Astor and Ashley Southall). “Bronx Fire, City’s Deadliest in Decades, Kills at Least 12 and Injures More, 12-28-2017. Accessed 12-29-2017 at: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/28/nyregion/bronx-fire.html

WABC-TV (ABC7NY). Here’s shat we know about the victims of the Bronx apartment building fire.” 12-30-2017. Accessed 12-31-2017 at: http://abc7ny.com/names-of-all-12-victims-of-bronx-fire-released/2836964/