In Wake Of Recent Tragedies, FDNY Reminds New Yorkers To Focus On Fire Safety
NEW YORK(CBSNewYork) -- Five people have been killed in house fires this week, according to the FDNY. All of those victims could have gotten out alive.
It was a tragic reminder to New Yorkers to make sure that they have a fire safety plan in place this weekend when clocks are set back, CBS 2's Janelle Burrell reported.
Bags of Halloween candy were strewn among the flowers and hand written notes beneath the second floor apartment where three brothers died after a candle in their kitchen sent flames racing through their Bronx home last Friday night.
In Wake Of Recent Tragedies, FDNY Reminds New Yorkers To Focus On Fire Safety
Fire officials said that there were no working smoke detectors in the apartment.
"By the time we tried to reach the second floor we couldn't help her kids. The fireman came out with her kids who were completely dead," Chris Rodriguez said.
FDNY Commissioner Salvatore Cassano said that many homes where fires break out don't have working detectors.
"Seventy-five percent of our fires there's no working smoke alarm in the home," he said, "Check your smoke alarm, carbon monoxide detectors, and change your batteries."
To get the message out the FDNY is going across all five boroughs to hand out smoke detectors and batteries, free of charge.
Back in the Bronx workers and neighbors continued to clean the boarded up 165th Street apartment where the three boys were killed.
"Have your smoke detectors working because it's a disaster if your smoke detectors don't work," Rodriguez said.
It was a heart wrenching lesson that came too late for some families.
In Brooklyn a mother and son were killed when a space heater malfunctioned in their home.
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