Worse Fire in NYC Since 1990 Claims 9 Lives; 4 FF's Injured
Thursday, March 8, 2007 0511 PST

NEW YORK, New York -- An extended family trapped inside their burning
Bronx house could be heard screaming for help in the night, and one
woman began tossing children from the broken windows to try to save
them.

Eight of the victims were children, including an infant and boys ages
4 and 9, authorities said. A woman in her 40s also died; 10 others
were hospitalized.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Thursday that an extended family of 22
from the west African nation of Mali lived in the three-story house. A
space heater or an overloaded power strip may have started the blaze,
the city's deadliest since the 1990 Happy Land nightclub fire, not
withstanding the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Neighbors described how a woman had hurled children from the windows
amid the blaze.

"All I see is just a big cloud of white dust and out of nowhere comes
the first baby," said Edward Soto, who caught the child. He said he
caught a second child moments later as screams of "help me, help me"
were coming from the house.

Neighbor Elaine Martin said she saw another woman, shoeless and in a
nightgown, on the street. She was shivering in the bitter cold and
frantically worrying about her children.

"My kids is in there, my kids is in there," Martin quoted the woman as
saying.

The fire destroyed the home's basement and first floor. Fire
investigators were on the scene Thursday trying to determine the
cause. The home had two smoke alarms, but neither had batteries.

4 families lived in the building with 17 children among them.

Fire Department spokesman Seth Andrews confirmed the death toll early
Thursday. At least 10 people were injured, 5 seriously. The injured
included 4 firefighters and another emergency worker who were
hospitalized with minor injuries.

Five children ranging in age from 2 to 6 were taken from the burning
home to Jacobi Medical Center with smoke inhalation and burns,
hospital spokesman Michael Heller said. He said 3 were in critical
condition. One of the victims, an infant, died, he said.

Three other victims _ a woman in her 40s and boys ages 4 and 9 _ were
dead when they arrived at Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center, hospital
spokesman Errol Schneer said.

The fire was reported shortly after 2300 Wednesday. Firefighters had
it under control about 2 hours later.

"It's obviously terrible for anyone to perish like this," Bloomberg
said. "It just seems more painful and more unfair when children die.
When children die, everyone around them seems to die a little as
well."

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