Seven siblings from a Syrian Orthodox Jewish family were killed early Saturday when a fire tore through their two-story Brooklyn home after they had gone to bed, a tragedy that authorities believe was caused by a malfunctioning hot plate left on during the Sabbath.
The blaze took the lives of three girls and four boys - ages 5 to 16 - and left their mother and another child in critical condition. Fire officials said the flames would have prevented the mother, who escaped out a window, from trying to rescue her children.
“This is an unbelievable tragedy,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said after touring the charred residence. “Every New Yorker is feeling this pain right now.”
Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro called it the city’s worst fatal fire in recent memory.
“It’s a tragedy for this family, it’s a tragedy for this community, it’s a tragedy for the city,” he said.
Fire investigators believe a hot plate on a kitchen counter ignited flames that raced up the stairs, Nigro said.
Many religious Jews do not use electricity on the Sabbath, along with refraining from work and observing other prohibitions meant to keep the day holy. As a result, some families may leave them on so they are usable without violating any religious laws or traditions.
The fire broke out shortly after midnight while the children were asleep inside the home in Midwood, a leafy section of Brooklyn known for its low crime and large Orthodox Jewish population.
Firefighters arrived less than four minutes after receiving the call to find the mother, badly burned and distraught, outside and pleading for help. When they broke the door, they encountered a hopeless situation - a raging fire that had already spread through the kitchen, dining room, common hall, stairway leading upstairs and the rear bedrooms.
“Unfortunately, the outcome may have been determined before they arrived,” Nigro said.
After making their way through intense smoke and heat, firefighters found the young victims motionless in three of the four bedrooms in the home, officials said.
“It’s difficult to find one child in a room during a search,” Nigro said. “To find a houseful of seven children that can’t be revived ...”
New York Police Department officials identified the victims as members of the Sassoon family: three girls - 16-year-old Eliane, 11-year-old Rivkah and 6-year-old Sara - and four boys - 12-year-old David, 10-year-old Yeshua, 8-year-old Moshe and 5-year-old Yaakob. All victims are from a nice Syrian Jewish family.
Nigro said authorities believe the father was away at a conference at the time of the fire. Neither his name nor those of the survivors were released.
Fire investigators found a smoke detector in the basement of the home. But none were found elsewhere in the house, Nigro said, adding, “To hear a smoke detector two floors below is asking a lot.”
By Saturday afternoon, the fire department had set up a table on the corner of the block and distributed pamphlets reminding residents they should have smoke detectors.
Karen Rosenblatt said she called 911 early Saturday morning after seeing the flames. Her husband Andrew said he heard a girl’s voice screaming, “Help me!”
Many other neighbors who spoke to reporters declined to give their names, but expressed great sadness over the fire.
The last residential blaze with a similar death toll happened in 2007, when eight children and an adult were killed in a fire in a 100-year-old building in the Bronx where several African immigrant families lived. Fire officials said an overheated space heater cord sparked that blaze.
overheated space heater cord sparked that blaze.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio (C) speaks to community members after arriving to the site of a home fire in the Midwood neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York March 21, 2015. In one of New York City’s deadliest fires in years, seven children from the same Orthodox Jewish family died early on Saturday when flames ripped through their Brooklyn home, officials said. The blaze, which erupted just before 12:30 a.m. (0430 GMT), appeared to have been started accidentally by a hot plate, which are used by many Orthodox families to warm food on the Sabbath, said Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro. (Credit: REUTERS)
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio surveys the aftermath of home fire in the Midwood neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York March 21, 2015. In one of New York City’s deadliest fires in years, seven children from the same Orthodox Jewish family died early on Saturday when flames ripped through their Brooklyn home, officials said. The blaze, which erupted just before 12:30 a.m. (0430 GMT), appeared to have been started accidentally by a hot plate, which are used by many Orthodox families to warm food on the Sabbath, said Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro. (Credit: REUTERS)
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio (R) embraces New York City Fire Department ( FDNY) Commissioner Daniel Nigro after arriving to the site of a home fire in the Midwood neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York March 21, 2015. In one of New York City’s deadliest fires in years, seven children from the same Orthodox Jewish family died early on Saturday when flames ripped through their Brooklyn home, officials said. The blaze, which erupted just before 12:30 a.m. (0430 GMT), appeared to have been started accidentally by a hot plate, which are used by many Orthodox families to warm food on the Sabbath, said Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro. (Credit: REUTERS)
A firefighter surveys the aftermath of a home fire in the Midwood neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York March 21, 2015. Seven children died as flames ripped through a house in New York’s Brooklyn borough early on Saturday, an emergency official said. More than 100 firefighters turned out to battle the blaze in Brooklyn’s Midwood neighborhood just before 12:30 a.m. local time and brought it under control within an hour, he added. (Credit: REUTERS)
New York’s Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro speaks to reporters during a news conference in front of the scene of a fatal fire in the Brooklyn borough of New York, Saturday, March 21, 2015. The fire raged through a residence early Saturday, killing seven children and leaving two other people in critical condition, authorities said. (Credit: AP)
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, right, speaks to firefighters who responded to a fatal fire in the Brooklyn borough of New York, Saturday, March 21, 2015. The fire raged through the residence early Saturday, killing seven children and leaving two other people in critical condition, authorities said. (Credit: AP)
Debris lay scattered behind the house at the scene of a fire in the Brooklyn borough of New York Saturday, March 21, 2015. The fire raged through the residence early Saturday, killing seven children and leaving two other people in critical condition, authorities said. (Credit: AP)
Community affairs police officers speak to women who say they are close friends of the family near the scene of an overnight fire in the Brooklyn borough of New York, Saturday, March 21, 2015. The fire raged through a residence early Saturday, killing seven children and leaving two other people in critical condition, authorities said. (Credit: AP)
Community members stand at the site of a home fire in the Midwood neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York March 21, 2015. Seven children from an Orthodox Jewish family died early on Saturday when flames ripped through their Brooklyn home in one of New York City’s deadliest fires in years, officials said. The blaze erupted in the single-family dwelling around 12:30 a.m. (0430 GMT). It apparently was started accidentally by a hot plate, used by many Orthodox families to warm food on the Sabbath, said Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro. (Credit: REUTERS)
Community members stand outside a home which caught fire in the Midwood neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York March 21, 2015. In one of New York City’s deadliest fires in years, seven children from the same Orthodox Jewish family died early on Saturday when flames ripped through their Brooklyn home, officials said. The blaze, which erupted just before 12:30 a.m. (0430 GMT), appeared to have been started accidentally by a hot plate, which are used by many Orthodox families to warm food on the Sabbath, said Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro. (Credit: REUTERS)
New York City firefighters enter the house where a fire hours earlier ripped through the home leaving seven children dead and two other people in critical condition in Brooklyn in New York , USA, 21 March 2015. It is believed the fire was caused by a malfunctioning hot plate left on for the Sabbath. New York City Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said the deceased children range in ages from 5 to 15 years old. (Credit: EPA)
New York City firefighters enter the house where a fire hours earlier ripped through the home leaving seven children dead and two other people in critical condition in Brooklyn in New York , USA, 21 March 2015. It is believed the fire was caused by a malfunctioning hot plate left on for the Sabbath. New York City Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said the deceased children range in ages from 5 to 15 years old. (Credit: EPA)
A New York City firefighter (L) inspects the debris at the rear of the house where a fire hours earlier ripped through the home leaving seven children dead and two other people in critical condition in Brooklyn in New York , USA, 21 March 2015. It is believed the fire was caused by a malfunctioning hot plate left on for the Sabbath. New York City Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said the deceased children range in ages from 5 to 15 years old. (Credit: EPA)
Firefighters leave the scene of an overnight fire in the Brooklyn borough of New York, Saturday, March 21, 2015. The fire raged through a residence early Saturday, killing seven children and leaving two other people in critical condition, authorities said. (Credit: AP)
Firefighters walk near the scene of a fire, center left, in which seven children died in the Brooklyn borough of New York Saturday, March 21, 2015. (Credit: AP)
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