Demolition worker with Remedial Services Inc. (RSI) died after a tank, fell on top of him during demolition work at the BASF plant in McIntosh, Alabama

Demolition worker working for Remedial Service Inc. died after a tank, fell on top of him during demolition work at the BASF plant in McIntosh, Alabama

McIntosh, Ala. (WKRG) — 

A contractor had died working on a demolition project at the BASF site in McIntosh, Alabama Tuesday.

According to the BASF, the contractor was working for Remedial Services, Inc. (RSI).  During the course of this work, a vessel, also referred to as a tank, fell on top of the contractor resulting in fatal injuries.

BASF says they are working with local and state emergency officials on the investigation into the incident.



BASF announced late last year that the McIntosh facility, which has about 600 employees, would be part of a $200 million worldwide expansion. 



Remedial Services, Inc. (RSI) is a local, small business classified General Contractor located just north of Mobile, Alabama. We are a full service company specializing in industrial and commercial concrete construction, demolition, environmental remediation, and special waste handling. RSI has a wide assortment of equipment pertinent to the industrial community, including but not limited to excavator mounted steel and concrete demolition shears, backhoes and hydraulic breakers, dozers, excavators, and other specialty equipment to complement our resources and ability to serve our client's needs.

RSI employs highly skilled personnel that are OSHA and HAZWOPER trained.

Our demolition personnel have extensive experience utilizing hydraulic shears and other specialty equipment in industrial environments.

Our concrete personnel have an average of 15 years experience in specialty and industrial concrete construction.

RSI's project management team has, over 80 years experience in the industrial contracting sector and includes project managers specializing in concrete construction, site grading and utilities, industrial demolition, and environmental remediation.

==================

BASF Expands Operations at McIntosh Site

The Business View – February 2017 / News You Can Use


In response to the low price of natural gas and the need to expand its operations in North America, BASF announced plans to invest more than $200 million in its plastic additives business worldwide. According to the company, part of this investment focuses on strengthening its manufacturing footprint in North America by investing in the McIntosh site, located in Washington County just north of Mobile, to support market growth.

BASF’s investment in McIntosh will expand the production capacity of light stabilizers, namely the Tinuvin product line. Tinuvin UV absorbers (UVAs) prevent degradation of both plastics and coatings by filtering out harmful UV radiation. “To us, this is a clear signal of our customers’ commitment to growth in the region,” said Anup Kothari, senior vice president, BASF Performance Chemicals. “The close proximity of our McIntosh site to our customers’ plants places us in an ideal position to fuel their growth.”

“This investment marks another successful BASF partnership,” said David Rodgers, senior project manager for the Mobile Area Chamber. “The McIntosh plant is vital for future growth of Mobile County’s chemical industry.”

The Chamber’s economic development team provides new business and existing industry expansion support to the Washington County Economic Development Alliance.

In addition to its U.S. locations, BASF’s plastic additives business has manufacturing sites in Mexico, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Bahrain, China and Singapore.

Somerset, KY personal injury attorney Scott T. Foster, 41, his son, Noah Foster, 15, Dr. Kyle P. Stewart, 41 and Somerset Police Chaplain Quinton D. Whitaker, 40, died in the crash of a 1965 Piper PA-32-260 plane when it impacted trees and terrain in Barren County west of Tracy, Kentucky

• Kyle P. Stewart, 41, dead at the Piper plane crash

  Partner at Associates in Dentistry
• Studied BS in Biology at University of Kentucky
• Went to Southwestern Pulaski County High School
• Went to Pulaski County High School
• Lives in Somerset, Kentucky
• From Somerset, Kentucky

Dr. Kyle Stewart was born and raised in Somerset, Ky., and attended both Pulaski County and Southwestern High Schools before receiving his Biology degree from the University of Kentucky in 1998. He went on to earn his dental degree from the University of Kentucky in 2002 and returned home to begin his career with Associates in Dentistry. Since then, he has been active in state and local dental associations, serving two terms as president of the South Central Dental Society. Dr. Stewart also was part of a medical mission team to Africa, where he provided dental care. In his free time, Dr. Stewart enjoys spending time with his family, traveling, and hunting with friends.

Somerset, KY personal injury attorney Scott T. Foster, 41, dead.  Here is shown with his wife.

Somerset, KY personal injury attorney Scott T. Foster, 41, along with his son Noah, 15 (left) died in the Piper plane crash

GLASGOW, Ky. - 

Officials with the Federal Aviation Administration confirmed a single-engine plane crash in Barren County, Kentucky killed four people.

Reports stated the plane crashed near Bewleytown Road in the Fountain Run community of Barren County around 2:21 p.m. Sunday.

Details on the crash had not been released; however, authorities confirmed three people died at the scene, and a fourth victim died after being taken to the Medical Center in Bowling Green.

The identities of those killed were released Sunday night. Scott T. Foster, age 41 of Science Hill, Kentucky, and his son, 15-year-old Noah Foster, both died in the crash. Troopers identified the other two victims as 41-year-old Kyle P. Stewart and 40-year-old Quinton D. Whitaker, both of Somerset, Kentucky.



Scott T. Foster was a Car Accident Attorney-at-Law Serving Somerset & Central, KY.


Somerset, KY attorney Scott T. Foster was born and raised in Pulaski County, Ky. After graduating from high school, Scott graduated from Western Kentucky University. After graduating from Western, Scott attended the Cumberland School of Law at Samford University, in Birmingham, Alabama. While at Cumberland, Scott worked for a firm that did mainly insurance defense, learning the ins and outs of the insurance companies. Scott then moved to Nashville, Tennessee where he worked for a large firm in downtown Nashville concentrating on insurance defense. At that time, Scott spent time, again, learning the insurance industry from the inside out. After determining that he no longer wanted to work for insurance companies, Scott decided to move back home and serve his local community by using his knowledge of the insurance industry to take on the insurance companies and get the best settlements possible for car wreck victims.



Quinton D. Whitaker, 40 was the Somerset Police Chaplain. Police chaplains serve in a wide variety of ways. They may be called upon to assist in death notifications, assist and support victims in times of crisis, respond to suicide incidents, and serve as part of a crisis response team. They visit sick or injured personnel, are a resource for counseling for members of the agency and their families, and serve as a liaison with other clergy in the community. They are called upon to deliver the invocation or benediction at public ceremonies as representatives of the police department. They also are on hand to serve inside the police department.



Authorities with the FAA said the plane was a Piper PA32 that was headed to the Lake Cumberland Regional Airport in Somerset.


Further details were not released as the investigation continued by the FAA and Kentucky State Police. Officials with the NTSB were set to determine the probable cause of the crash.

The FAA records show that Scott T. Foster co-owned a 1965 Piper PA-32-260 plane.

FOSTER SCOTT THOMAS PO BOX 1566 SOMERSET, KY 42502-1566

PIPER 1965

PA-32-260

06/16/2015

Up to 12,499

Co-Owned

===========================






BARREN COUNTY, Ky. (WBKO) -- UPDATE: 5:00 p.m.

Police have confirmed that four people have died as result of the crash. Three were pronounced dead at the scene. One was pronounced dead at the Medical Center in Bowling Green.

---

UPDATE: 4:30 p.m.

Kentucky State Police say they will cease investigation as daylight becomes scarce. They are awaiting the arrival of the FAA.

Public Information Officer Jeremy Hodges described the wreckage as "mangled". He also said there is a field of debris up to 200 feet wide.

Hodges described the state of the plane, saying it looks to have hit some tree tops before being halted by one of the trees.

He says they've set up about a 500-foot perimeter around the scene. The Barren County Coroner is on scene.

---

A plane has crashed near the Fountain Run area of Barren County.

Kentucky State Police are investigating the crash but aren't releasing many details at this time.

Police say the crash happened somewhere off of Bewleytown Road and Capitol Hill Church Road. Witnesses say ambulances and firetrucks are on scene.
Most likely the pilot of the plane was Scott T. Thomas as he has a private pilot license for a single engine aircraft.
 

First Middle Name	SCOTT THOMAS		Last Name	FOSTER
Street	PO BOX 1566		City	SOMERSET
State	KY		Zip Code	42502-1566
Country	USA		Region	CENTRAL
Medical Date	2014-10-01		Medical Expire Date	2017-10-01
Medical Class	3
Certificate Type, Rating, and Instructor Expire Date			PILOT/PRIVATE - AIRPLANE SINGLE ENGINE LAND PILOT/STUDENT - No Rating

Date: 12-NOV-2017
Time: 14:21 LT
Type:
Piper PA-32-260
Owner/operator:

Registration:

C/n / msn:

Fatalities: Fatalities: 4 / Occupants: 4
Other fatalities: 0
Airplane damage: Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Location: Barren County north of Fountain Run, KY - United States of America
Phase: Unknown
Nature: Unknown
Departure airport:

Destination airport: Lake Cumberland Rgn’l (KSME)
Narrative:
The aircraft impacted trees and terrain in Barren County west of Tracy, Kentucky while enroute to Lake Cumberland Regional Airport (KSME) located in Somerset, Kentucky. The airplane was destroyed during the accident sequence and the four occupants onboard received fatal injuries.

Sources:
http://www.local8now.com/content/news/Four-dead-in-Barren-County-plane-crash-457067973.html
http://wkrn.com/2017/11/12/faa-confirms-plane-crash-near-bowling-green/
http://www.newschannel5.com/news/single-engine-plane-crashes-in-barren-county-kentucky
http://www.bgdailynews.com/news/four-dead-in-barren-county-plane-crash/article_7abb731a-1ea6-5726-b9c3-8cdb869fb8e1.html
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Bewleytown+Rd+%26+Capitol+Hill+Church+Rd+%26+Jordan+Rd,+Fountain+Run,+KY+42133/@36.7929507,-85.9863049,18z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x8866696683b718f1:0xa9e767af8d8167c8?hl=en-us


The PA-32 series began life in 1965 as the 260 horsepower (190 kW) PA32-260 Cherokee Six, a significantly modified six- (or seven) seat development of the PA-28 Cherokee

Aircraft Description

Serial Number	32-217	Status	Valid
Manufacturer Name	PIPER	Certificate Issue Date	06/16/2015
Model	PA-32-260	Expiration Date	06/30/2018
Type Aircraft	Fixed Wing Single-Engine	Type Engine	Reciprocating
Pending Number Change	None	Dealer	No
Date Change Authorized	None	Mode S Code (base 8 / oct)	50731140
MFR Year	1965	Mode S Code (base 16 / hex)	A3B260
Type Registration	Co-Owned	Fractional Owner	NO

Registered Owner

Name	FOSTER SCOTT THOMAS
Street	PO BOX 1566
City	SOMERSET	State	KENTUCKY
County	PULASKI	Zip Code	42502-1566
Country	UNITED STATES

Airworthiness

Engine Manufacturer	LYCOMING	Classification	Standard
Engine Model	0-540 SERIES	Category	Normal
A/W Date	11/23/1965

More than 6,000 deadly car crashes a year are caused by drowsy driving, according to AAA. Sleepiness is now being blamed for cases of colon cancer, breast cancer, and prostate cancer.

Key Facts: Drowsy driving

• 37% of drivers report having fallen asleep behind the wheel at some point in their lives; 11% report having fallen asleep behind the wheel in the past year
• Drowsiness was involved in one in five fatal crashes
• An estimated 328,000 crashes each year, including 109,000 injury crashes and 6,400 fatal crashes, involve a drowsy driver.
• Men have twice as many drowsy driving crashes as women
• More than half of drowsy driving crashes involve drivers drifting out of their lanes or off the road
• After getting only 5 to 6 hours of sleep, crash risk increased by 1.9 times compared to getting normal sleep of 7 hours.

Drowsy Driving

Drivers can barely keep their eyes open, according to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety’s annual Traffic Safety Culture Index. More than a third of drivers report having fallen asleep behind the wheel at some point in their lives, and more than one in ten has fallen asleep behind the wheel in the past year.

A Foundation study completed in Novembr 2014 found the impact of having drowsy drivers on the road is considerable. Drowsy drivers are involved in an estimated 21% of fatal crashes, up from 16.5% from the previous 2010 study, as most drivers drift out of their lanes or off the road. Drivers themselves are often crash victims who die in single-car crashes.

In December of 2016, the Foundation released a new report about crash risk and lack of sleep. Crash risk rises dramatically with only one to two hours of sleep less than the recommended average of seven hours of sleep per night.

Drivers have a near-universal understanding that driving when you’re too tired to keep your eyes open is risky. Almost every driver surveyed in our Traffic Safety Culture Index surveys – 96% -- reported that they find driving while extremely drowsy “unacceptable.”

As with so many risky driving behaviors, too many people are inclined to apply their knowledge of drowsy-driving risks to others, but not themselves. Through our educational materials and outreach efforts, we hope to offer drivers strategies for managing the risks of drowsy driving and changing their own behaviors.


========================= ‘You can sleep when you’re dead’ is actually deadly advice, according to experts

Nov. 11, 2017, 9:08 AM
 
Losing sleep puts your body at a disadvantage when fighting off diseases, including cancer. 

More than 6,000 deadly car crashes a year are caused by drowsy driving, according to AAA.
Just a week of short sleep nights (around five or six hours) can make you pre-diabetic.



Rocker Warren Zevon is often credited with coining the mantra that’s been embraced by everyone from partying college kids to early-morning exercise evangelists: “You can sleep when you’re dead.”

Or as Bon Jovi put it, “Gonna live while I'm alive, I'll sleep when I'm dead.”

It’s an intoxicating thought, but the truth is that not getting enough sleep is literally killing us.

That’s what neuroscientist Matthew Walker, who directs the sleep and neuroimaging lab at UC Berkeley, says in his new book, ‘Why We Sleep,’ which was published in October.


Walker has dolled out sleep advice to the NBA, NFL and Pixar, among others. His first book is a deep dive into the latest research on the importance of sleep, as well as a how-to guide for getting better sleep.

He succinctly summed up his overall stance on snoozing for Business Insider: “The shorter your sleep, the shorter your life,” Walker said.

It’s estimated that two thirds of adults around the world aren’t getting enough sleep. The World Health Organization and Walker both recommend about eight hours a night as a good baseline.

Walker argues that routinely getting only six or seven hours of shut-eye per night can do serious long-term damage to your health, and in some cases even kill you. He insists on a strict eight hours of "sleep opportunity" for himself. That means he's in bed for at least eight hours a night, even if he spends a portion of that time falling asleep and waking up. He says that schedule helps keep him productive, as well as emotionally and physically fit.

Here are three of the key ways Walker says a lack of sleep can hurt your body and brain.

Lack of sleep puts the immune system at a disadvantage

When you haven't slept enough, it’s harder for the body to fight off illnesses ranging from the common cold to cancer. Sleep deprivation depletes stores of your “natural killer cells,” a type of lymphocyte (white blood cell) that nix tumor and virus cells. A single 4- or 5-hour night of sleep could lower your body’s "natural killer" cell count by around 70%, Walker says.

Missing sleep can also put your body on a crash course for chronic disease. Insufficient sleep has been linked to increased instances of Alzheimer's, obesity, stroke, and diabetes. Lack of sleep changes how insulin operates in your body and how quickly your cells absorb sugar. After a week of short sleep nights (say, five or six hours), your doctor could diagnose you with pre-diabetes, Walker says. That means your blood sugar levels are elevated enough that you're on track to become a diabetic. Long-term damage to your heart, blood vessels, and kidneys could already be in motion in such circumstances.

It's true that some people, a "sleepless elite" as Walker calls them, are built to survive on less sleep and will sleep just six hours, even in laboratory sleep conditions. Such lucky individuals make up just a fraction of one percent of the population, Walker says, and share a gene (BHLHE41) that's incredibly rare. (If you think you have it, you probably don't.)
Just an hour of lost sleep can kill

Walker likes to say that "there is a global experiment performed on 1.6 billion people, twice a year." You probably call it Daylight Saving Time.

After we lose an hour of sleep every spring when the clocks get pushed forward, car accident rates jump. Walker's seen this play out in the lab too — after study participants spent two weeks sleeping for seven hours instead of nine, their reaction times slowed by half a second. That's a long lapse if you're cruising at 60 mph. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety has studied car crashes in the US, and found that tired drivers kill about 6,400 people a year.

Heart attacks also spike 25% around Daylight Saving Time, since sleep deprivation puts more stress on the heart. Researchers have found that men in Japan who sleep less than six hours a night are 400-500% likelier to have a heart attack than their better-rested counterparts.
 

Sleep debt is carcinogenic

Insufficient sleep makes the body a better breeding ground for cancer. Sleepiness is now being blamed for cases of colon cancer, breast cancer, and prostate cancer. An off-kilter sleep schedule may also give rise to cancer, since it causes melatonin to be suppressed. The World Health Organization calls night work a "probable carcinogen."

Because of all these factors, scientists warn that hanging on to the idea that you'll sleep when you are dead is truly deadly advice.

If you're not sleeping enough, "you will be both dead sooner, and the quality of your (now shorter) life will be significantly worse," Walker told Business Insider.

a burning cardboard box thrown between Thomas McQueen, 66, and Alice Reimiller, 53, caused the March 9 fire that claimed the life of Gordon Wanser, 58 in the 104 E. Mine St. apartment in Hazelton, PA

 Hazelton, PA

Magisterial District Judge Joseph Zola on Monday postponed ruling on charges against two city residents accused of involuntary manslaughter for the 2016 death of a man who died in an apartment fire.

Prosecutors allege that a burning cardboard box thrown between Thomas McQueen, 66, and Alice Reimiller, 53, caused the March 9 fire that claimed the life of Gordon Wanser, 58.

“I will hold my decision on both cases because there are some things I want to research a little bit and I can’t do it at this time,” Zola said after a preliminary hearing for the couple.

He expected to alert attorneys to his decision sometime today.

McQueen and Reimiller were charged with second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, arson, reckless endangerment and related charges. Like McQueen and Reimiller, Wanser was a tenant in the 104 E. Mine St. apartment building where the fire began.

An autopsy determined Wanser died from carbon monoxide poisoning due to smoke inhalation.

McQueen and Reimiller, both inmates at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility, entered not guilty pleas. At the end of the 2½ hour hearing, attorneys for the two requested a dismissal of charges.

Lt. David Bunchalk, who recently retired from the Hazleton Police Department, and Sgt. Shawn Hilbert, a Pennsylvania State Police fire marshal, were called as witnesses.

Bunchalk explained that he interviewed both defendants when they were in the hospital recovering from fire-related injuries. Both offered similar accounts of what happened, he said. Following a day of arguing, Bunchalk said McQueen ignited a cardboard box and tossed it at Reimiller as she sat on an enclosed porch.

“She picked up the still-lit box and threw it back into the apartment then went back to sit on the porch,” Bunchalk said.

Several minutes later, the apartment was on fire, he said.

Reimiller returned to the apartment, opened the door, and was hit with flames. She ran out and McQueen was also able to exit.

Three other tenants were at the property when the fire started. Tenant David Zook required hospitalization for his injuries, while residents Thomas Natt and Gary Strohl were treated for smoke inhalation, Bunchalk said.

The tenants were interviewed and collaborated the McQueen/Reimiller accounts.

Through his investigation, Hilbert determined the fire originated in the cardboard box inside the McQueen/Reimiller unit, then spread to a stairwell and to the second floor where Wanser had a room.

“The extent of the heat melted the plastic on his TV,” Hilbert noted.

Wanser’s room was located directly above the McQueen/Reimiller apartment, he noted.

Hilbert said that state police investigators returned to the scene a month later to perform a series of burn tests. All pointed to the cardboard box as the origin of the fire.

Attorney William Watt, who is representing McQueen, asked Zola to dismiss charges.

He argued that the fire would have never started if Reimiller didn’t throw the box back at McQueen.

Reimiller’s attorney, Paul Galante, said that if his client wanted to cause harm, she wouldn’t have returned to the apartment. He also said that she dropped the box in the apartment’s entryway, which was not the site where the fire originated. He suggested that McQueen may have moved the burning box further inside the unit, where investigators believe the fire intensified.

Prosecutor Tony Ross, however, asked that the charges be bound for court since “intentional” actions caused Wanser’s death.

Reimiller and McQueen remain in prison on the non-bailable offenses.

Nursing student Joanna Mei, 22, confessed to setting the Deadly Dyker Heights fire in Brooklyn that killed 56-year-old grandmother Feng Xu and 58-year-old grandfather Xi Huang; Mei was mad neighbors left garbage in the hallway

• Works at Brooklyn Community Services
• Lives in Brooklyn, New York
• From New York, New York

Fatal Brooklyn blaze set by woman who lit hallway garbage on fire
Woman Charged With Murder In Connection With Deadly Dyker Heights Fire November 10, 2017



NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — A woman has been charged with two counts of murder in connection with a deadly blaze in Brooklyn that fire officials said was deliberately set.

Flames raced through three-story walk-up at 6709 11th Ave. in Dyker Heights around 7 a.m. Thursday.

Police sources say Joanna Mei, 22, confessed to setting the fire and that she was mad neighbors left garbage in the hallway. It took over 100 firefighters to contain the flames.



Once they did, 56-year-old grandmother Feng Xu and 58-year-old grandfather Xi Huang were found unconscious in their third floor apartment.

“I heard them screaming, I thought they were fighting, but they were obviously in terror trying to get out,” Gina Fiumefreddo said.

Mei has been charged with two counts of murder and arson, police said.


Police sources said Mei had psychological issues and confessed to playing with fire in the past, CBS2’s Lisa Rozner reported.

She allegedly told police she set a fire in the first floor stairwell and tried to stomp it out. But it quickly spread, engulfing the second and third floors.

Police sources told CBS2’s Rozner that Mei said she was mad at neighbors for leaving trash in the hallway.

Outside the police station, Rozner reported that she and her crew spotted the same black Toyota police were focused on at the scene Thursday. Inside were packages addressed to Mei in apartment 3F — the same floor the victims lived, Rozner reported.

Neighbors were shocked by the news.

“That’s unbelievable and it’s disgusting. This is just crazy, what is going on anymore?” said Dawn Zatucci, who helped people as they jumped to safety from an awning.

“I think it’s really sad — beyond sad — this is a tight knit community,” said Heidi Pugni.

Ten people were injured, including three firefighters and the couple’s grandchildren — a 3-month-old boy and a 4-year-old girl.

Its not clear what accelerant was allegedly used in the fire, but police sources say they have Mei on camera at the scene, Rozner reported.

There were no working smoke detectors in the building, fire officials said.

For now the fire marshal is investigating.



========================



The deadly fire that ripped through a Brooklyn building and killed two people was an accident, according to the woman accused of starting the blaze.

Jailed murder suspect Joanna Mei claims she placed a smoldering piece of newspaper in the trash as she left her Dyker Heights home on her way to school, but didn't realize the scrap would spark an inferno.

"There was a newspaper on the ground that wasn't in the correct bin so I put it on top of a cardboard box and went downstairs," the 22-year-old nursing student told the Daily News on Saturday in a Rikers Island interview.

Mei, wearing a beige jumpsuit and glasses repeatedly pushed her long, straight black hair out of her face as she denied intentionally setting the Thursday morning fire.

Fatal Brooklyn blaze set by woman who lit hallway garbage on fire

"I was walking down the stairs and a few steps down I saw some bicycles laying around and something that looked like water on the floor," she said. "Some of the water got on me too and it smelled."

Specially trained dogs from the FDNY K-9 Unit found gas on Mei while police interviewed her, sources said.

A firefighter on the scene of the blaze, where stairways were completely charred. (Todd Maisel/New York Daily News)

The dogs also found possible accelerants in other spots, including the third floor, where tenants Xi Huang, 58, and Feng Xu, 56, died.
 

Mei, who also lived on the third floor with her family, was charged with two counts of murder and arson.


Despite her denials on Saturday, sources say that Mei admitted to cops she started the blaze because she was upset about trash in the hallways and about a relative's death several years ago.

Mei also had a small burn on her right hand, sources said.

After setting the fire in a garbage can, she told cops that she changed her mind and tried to put it out by kicking it over, spreading the smoldering rubbish, sources said.

Mei told The News she remembers the newspaper looking kind of black when she moved it.



Deadly 2-alarm fire reduces apartment building to ash in Dyker Heights, Brooklyn

It was only later that she found out what she thought was water on the floor was actually gasoline.

"I left around 6:45. By the time I made it down the block, the fire started," she said. "I ran back to my family."

She doesn't know who called 911, but said it wasn't her.

Her younger sister, mother and brother all got out safely from their third-floor apartment.


People watch firefighters at work on scene of the fatal Thursday fire. (Debbie Egan-Chin/New York Daily News)

As for the two victims that died, Mei said she only knew them as her neighbors.

"I didn't know them really well. They moved in about a year ago. I only said hi and bye to them," she said. I feel sorry for them. Two people died."

A neighbor told the accused arsonist that the pair briefly escaped the inferno but decided to go back into the building to save their belongings.

"A woman in our building saw them come out when the fire started and said they went back in to get their money and all their important stuff," she said.


Two of Mei's neighbors were killed in the fire. (Todd Maisel/New York Daily News)

In addition to the two dead, a family of four, which included a 3-month-old boy, was taken to Maimonides Medical Center with smoke inhalation. Three firefighters also suffered minor injuries.

Despite being ordered held without bail, Mei said she expects she'll be freed before too long.

"I'm not getting used this, I'm going to get out of here soon," she said.