Renewed Calls To Honor Hero Soldier Who Died In Bronx Fire

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Local lawmakers have echoed calls to honor a hero soldier who lost his life while rescuing people from a devastating fire that killed over a dozen people in the Bronx.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wants the Army to posthumously honor 28-year-old National Guard member Emmanuel Mensah.

His family says he raced repeatedly into the building in the Belmont section to rescue four people.

He's among the 13 people killed in the December 28th blaze.

FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro said the day after the fire that a 3 1/2-year-old boy who was playing with the burners on the stove in a first floor apartment of the building caused the inferno.

Nigro said the fire quickly spread up the stairs, but said there was nothing structurally about the building that was unusual.