An elderly woman, a 48-year-old mother and her two girls died in residential fires yesterday in Brooklyn and Queens (NYC).
The flames broke out around 4:15 p.m. Friday at a three-story residential building at 51-23 Reeder St., between Queens Blvd. and 51st Street, Elmhurst neighborhood. “The fire was huge,” he told Daily News a resident who had to evacuate his home because of the flames.
Firefighters removed a 77-year-old woman from the building. “They were pumping her chest, but she wasn’t responding,” the building resident said. Paramedics took her to Elmhurst Hospital, where she was pronounced dead around 5:55 p.m.
The unidentified elderly woman lived with her son, who was hospitalized. A firefighter also suffered minor injuries. The fire was declared under control at 5:20 p.m.
The tragedy forced two families out of the building, authorities said. Fire marshals were still working last night to determine the cause of the fire.
Earlier in the day, a mother and her two young daughters died when a fire ripped through their apartment in Brooklyn (NYC). The 40-year-old woman and her two daughters, ages 8 and 10, were found inside the 3rd-floor apartment on Gates Avenue near Tompkins Avenue, in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, where the flames broke out shortly after 5 a.m. of friday.
They were taken to Woodhull Medical Center, where they were pronounced dead. They were later identified as Danielle Havens and her daughters Journee and Kelsee Miles.
When firefighters arrived on the scene three minutes after being called, flames were already raging through the kitchen. As the fire progressed, troops moved from there to the back rooms of the apartment, FDNY Chief John Sarrocco said.
There they found the three victims unconscious. They were taken to Woodhull Medical Center, where they were pronounced dead. The fire was brought under control around 5:45 a.m.
The fire was caused by “careless cooking” and there was no smoke alarm present, the FDNY said. Mayor Eric Adams and FDNY Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh toured the scene of the fatal fire Friday.
“It’s just a terrible situation, a terrible way to start the day,” Adams said. “There are some learning experiences here that we are going to incorporate based on what we saw on the inside. But it’s a really unfortunate situation, and my heart goes out to them.”
“This is an incredible tragedy for this neighborhood, for this family. We will be here all morning working with the Red Cross, working with OEM (Office of Emergency Management) and working with the city to support the family,” said Commissioner Kavanagh.
There are some learning experiences here that we’re going to incorporate based on what we saw on the inside. But it’s a really unfortunate situation, and my heart goes out to them.” Eric Adams, Mayor of NYC, at the scene of the fire in Brooklyn