Oct. 31 (UPI) — Three children and a young man believed to be from the same family died after a fire tore through their home in the Bronx borough of New York City early Sunday, according to officials.
The two-alarm fire broke out in the back of a three-story home on Quimby Avenue at 6:01 a.m., an FDNY spokesperson confirmed to UPI.
Police described the victims as a 10-month-old girl, a 10-year-old boy, a 12-year-old boy, and a 22-year-old man in a statement.
The two young boys were pronounced dead at the scene by EMS. The infant girl and the 22-year-old man were among the victims transported to Jacobi Hospital in the Bronx, where they died from their injuries.
Police said that two other victims were taken to Jacobi Hospital and remain listed in critical condition. They were described as a 21-year-old female and a 41-year-old male.
The Fire Marshall will determine the cause of the fire, and the investigation is ongoing, police said. The identities of the victims have not been released pending family notification.
FDNY officials said that three firefighters also suffered minor injuries battling the blaze — which was under control by 7:54 a.m. More than 100 firefighters from 25 FDNY units responded to the scene.
Police sources told the New York Daily News that the victims are all believed to be members of the same family.
“It’s a big family next door,” neighbor Imlaque Chowdhury, 30, told the Daily News. “The kids play in the yard.”
Chowdhury added that at least eight members of the family have lived in the home for the last five years.
“You could see their little hands banging on the windows,” resident Merlyn Persaue, 60, told the New York Post. “They were screaming, the children, ‘Hey Allah! Hey Allah!’ which means, ‘Help me, God! Help me, God.'”
