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Fire at 354 Stuyvesant Ave.
By Alexa11221 | December 28, 2007
A blog reader posted wondering if anyone knows anything more about this fire and the little girl who was badly injured.
From the NY Times piece (link to the full article is above):
New York Region
Girl, 3, Burned in Brooklyn Blaze
By ANDY NEWMAN
Published: December 28, 2007
Firefighters crawled beneath flames to pull a critically burned 3-year-old girl from a house fire in Brooklyn on Thursday night, the Fire Department said.
December 28th, 2007 at 2:02 pm
What’s oddly missing here is the presence of any adults. Perhaps the Times overlooked this piece of reporting, but where was the child’s parents or caregiver(s). There were no reports on News 12 of any adults around who tried to help either.
Perhaps I am missing something?
I know this building didn’t have the best reputation in the nabe and there were plenty a shady character hanging out on the stoop at night, but I will be incredibly angry and disgusted if it turns out that the child was left alone or that the child was put at risk due to the negligence of her caregiver(s)
I did see the Red Cross on the scene and the fire was put out very quickly - probably due to the proximity of the local fire station 5 blocks away. The house was totally gutted though
The poster who may want to help can contact the Red Cross for more info on the child.
December 30th, 2007 at 10:25 pm
I happened to be walking by when this fire started near a window on the parlor floor… just a few flames in the corner on the floor. There were 4 of us standing in front of the house, all on cell phones calling 911. We also banged on the door of this house plus neighbors’ houmes to alert possible occupants. Finally, two teenage boys emerged (barefoot and in t-shirts), with a toddler. It seemed that they were upstairs, above the fire, and clueless of the severity of the threat.
I grabbed the toddler while the boys yelled that their baby sister was still in the house on the ground floor. One boy desperatelyt wanted to re-enter to rescue her but the flames engulfed the hallway on the parlor floor and he must not have had a key for the gate to the garden level unit. It was agonizing for us all b/c the fire dept had not arrived, the flames grew rapidly, and we all felt helpless. I offered to call someone for them but they couldn’t think of any numbers of relatives…said their mom had just walked to the store. All I could do was pray with boys, have faith that God would spare the baby’s life, and comfort the child I was holding.
Within minutes, the fire dept arrived, were told about the baby trapped inside, and immediately rushed to put out the fire and resuce the little girl. It was a bittersweet rescue to find out that she was alive but see the fireman running out with her badly burned little body. I tried to celebrate her survivial with the brother but all he could scream and cry was that “..,BUT SHE’S BURNED YO!!!; SHE BURNED BAD!” The mother arrived soon after, quickly talked with the boys, then climbed in the ambulance with the baby. A male figure who was somehow related to the family was livid and kept asking the boys why didnt they get their sister? I gave the toddler that I held to a neighbor who knew the family and then ran home to retrieve shoes and jackets for the boys. By the time I returned, someone else had provided these things for them.
It was the most traumatic event I have witnessed in a long time. My heart goes out to the now homeless family. I pray that the baby survives, the boys are relieved of guilt, and that they all are able to rapidly re-settle. We should check the batteries in our smoke alarms, thank the FDNY, and find a way to help this family.
December 31st, 2007 at 1:39 am
some story. do you live nearby?