Boy, 2, Critically Hurt In Early-Morning Fire In Marine Park
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A fire that left a 2-year-old boy critically injured in Brooklyn was caused by an air conditioner unit plugged into an extension cord, the FDNY said.
The blaze broke out just after 1 a.m. Monday at a home on Avenue P and 38th Street in Marine Park.
Neighbors said a family of six lives inside the home and that they saw a lot of smoke coming from the second-floor bedroom of the 2-year-old, Chase Pierre.
"There was a lot of a smoke, a lot of commotion," neighbor Tiffany Lawson said.
As CBS2's Ilana Gold reported, the toddler's mother and three siblings made it out safely and started screaming for help.
"Everybody in the street was yelling that the baby was in here," FDNY Lt. Victor Milukas, who rushed in to save the boy, told CBS2's Ilana Gold.
Boy, 2, Critically Hurt In Early Morning Fire In Brooklyn
Firefighters broke the upstairs window to get to Chase.
"We had zero visibility, high heat," Milukas said. "We couldn't tell where the fire was."
Milukas found his way into the bedroom and found the burning mattress, but no 2-year-old. After searching a few more seconds, he discovered him.
"There was a pile of clothes on the floor," Milukas said. "As I was searching the floor, I came across the lifeless infant."
Milukas pulled the 2-year-old from the burning home. Paramedics took him to Beth Israel Hospital in critical condition. He was transferred later Monday morning to Kings County Hospital.
Chase was placed in a medically induced coma so his lungs can heal from smoke inhalation, said his father, Jean Pierre, an emergency room nurse who was at work when the fire started.
Jean Pierre said the firefighters and EMTs did an amazing job saving his son.
"A-plus from start to finish," Pierre told 1010 WINS' Sonia Rincon. "Now he's doing better."
"They're a close-knit family -- the mom, the dad, they're good. They do a lot with the kids," neighbor Serena Richards said. "Their kids play with my son. So yeah, it's pretty close to home. It's really sad. So we're just praying that he's good."
Officials told CBS2 the blaze started in the toddler's bedroom.
Fire officials determined that the fire was an accident, caused by an air conditioner plugged into an extension cord instead of a wall outlet, 1010 WINS' Sonia Rincon reported. The cord was run under a carpet, according to the FDNY.
Air conditioner units must be plugged directly into an outlet, and extension cords should never be run under a rug, or allowed to be pinched between furniture or walls, the FDNY said.
CBS2 asked the Fire Department if the home had working smoke detectors. Officials said that is still under investigation.
Jean Pierre told Rincon the alarms were working and he has been diligent about change their batteries.
