What to know
- Investigators say they now know the cause of last weekend’s deadly fire that engulfed a house in the Bronx and claimed the lives of three children and an adult.
- Authorities on Friday identified the source of the fire and traced it to a damaged power strip inside the house. The firefighters determined it was an accident
- The announcement comes nearly a week after a family faced the losses of Kalheed Waleed Ban Saleh, 10, Mohamed Waleed Ahmed, 12, Barah Saleh, 10 months, and Ahmed, 22. Saleh. .
NEW YORK – Researchers say they now know the cause from the deadly fire last weekend that engulfed a house in the Bronx and claimed the lives of three children and an adult.
Authorities on Friday identified the source of the fire and traced it to a damaged power strip inside the house. Firefighters determined it was accidental.
The announcement comes nearly a week after a family faced the losses of Kalheed Waleed Ban Saleh, 10, Mohamed Waleed Ahmed, 12, Barah Saleh, 10 months, and Ahmed, 22. Saleh. .
The fire broke out in the two-story brick house on Quimby Avenue around 6am on Sunday and spread quickly. Firefighters, who arrived in just over four minutes, found a large fire on the first and second floors, Deputy Chief Kevin Brennan said.
Two of the child victims were declared dead on the spot once the fire of the two alarms was extinguished. The other two died in the hospital.
Two other victims, a 21-year-old woman and a 41-year-old man, were hospitalized in critical condition.
Witnesses described a heartbreaking scene in which the father of the dead children desperately tried to save them.
Neighbor Carla Cornielle said she gave the man a hammer who then tried to break down the door. When it didn’t work, she said she tried to break a window.
“I see this man in a panic, screaming for his family. He said, ‘My kids, my kids are all there. Help!’” Cornielle said.
He said the flames only got more intense. Another neighbor said he felt helpless hearing screams from inside as the house caught fire. Relatives said the father saved his parents, then tried to save his baby, but he couldn’t.
Mayor Eric Adams visited the site on Sunday and told his grieving father that the city would help with the burials.
“He has lost his children and it is extremely painful,” the Democrat said. “The block and the community will gather around this family.”
More than 100 firefighters and emergency health service workers were sent to the building. Before determining the cause of the fire, investigators said the home had functioning smoke detectors at the time.
