An early-morning fire in Brooklyn Monday left a mother and three of her children dead, officials said. The Sheepshead Bay blaze also injured 10 people, including six firefighters.
The FDNY said that the fire at a single-family home on East 14th Street near Avenue S began around 2:30 a.m. while the family was sleeping, the New York Daily News reported. The home was occupied by a couple, their six children and a cousin.
The blaze began near the front of the home on the first floor before moving upstairs to the second floor and eventually to the attic, officials said.
The 40-year-old mother, who has not yet been identified, was found dead on the second floor. The bodies of two of her sons, ages 11 and 7, and a 3-year-old daughter were found nearby, police said.
The victim’s husband suffered critical burns, and one of the couple’s three surviving children jumped from a window to safety and broke his pelvis, FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro said, according to The New York Times.
There is no cause for the blaze at this time, officials said, but Nigro said it appeared to be accidental. Investigators are looking into whether it may have been started by a menorah, ABC7 reported.
