Boy, 7, Killed in House Fire That Started in
Fireplace: FDNY
The
blaze started in a fireplace and spread to furnishings and Christmas
decorations
A 7-year-old boy died in a house fire in Queens Wednesday
morning that started in a fireplace and spread to furnishings and Christmas
decorations, officials said.
Christopher Miller was found dead at the bottom
of the stairs in the East Elmhurst house, police said. He had been attempting
to flee the blaze.
"He was on his way out, he just couldn't
make it," said FDNY Deputy Chief Mark Ferran. "There was too much
smoke at that time. He was overcome. There was just so much fire when we got
here."
The fire started after two teenagers who live in
the house came back from a New Year's Eve party and started a fire in the
fireplace to keep warm at around 5 a.m., according to Ferran. The teens fell
asleep and the fire blazed through the house a few hours later.
There was no spark screen or working smoke alarm
in the home, the FDNY said.
Neighbors rushed to the burning home, but it was
too hot.
"I went there and I banged on the door, and
I opened the front door -- it was already open," said Marie Bouzy. "I
heard voice, like children's voices, inside."
The teens, a grandfather and Christopher's
12-year-old brother made it out alive. The 12-year-old has burns on his hands
and arms and is being treated at the hospital.
Firefighters said the boy's mother was
hysterical with grief when she arrived home to learn what happened. A family
friend on the scene was still in shock, saying, "I can't believe it. Oh,
my God."
A raging New Year’s Day house fire
killed a 7-year-old Queens boy as he struggled to make it down the stairs to
the front door, fire officials said.
Christopher Miller collapsed on the
stairwell landing just a few feet away from escaping the blaze that left his
13-year-old brother with serious burns.
“(Christopher) was on his way out, but
he just couldn’t make it — too much smoke,” said FDNY Deputy Chief Mark Ferran
of the fire that broke out just after 9 a.m. Wednesday at the East Elmhurst
home.
Andrew
Schwartz/For New York Daily News Firefighters gather at East Elmhurst home
where the fire broke out.
“There was so much fire when we got
here that there was nothing we could do.”
Fire officials said two 20-year-old
friends visiting the family from out of town set a blaze in the fireplace on
the first floor to keep warm.
Andrew
Schwartz/For New York Daily News Christopher Miller's grandparents struggle to
cope with the news of his death.
Then they fell asleep, Ferran said.
“But the fire spread across the
fireplace,” he said. “It caught into Christmas decorations, couches and other
furnishings.”
Andrew
Schwartz/For New York Daily News Christopher's 13-year-old brother Matthew is
being treated for second-degree burns on his arms and hands.
The commotion woke the two brothers
who had been sleeping upstairs, and they both tried to make it down to the
first floor of the 90th St. home, where the fire was raging.
Christopher died, and his
13-year-old brother — whom neighbors identified as Matthew — suffered
second-degree burns on his arms and hands and was rushed to New
York-Presbyterian Hospital Cornell.
Andrew
Schwartz/For New York Daily News Family friend, Amanda Bejarano, of the victim
of a house fire is comforted by a friend.
“He opened his eyes. He’s
responsive, but he doesn’t know what’s going on,” a frantic relative said.
“It’s a good thing he’s going to be all right . . . . But it’s going to take a
while.”
The two visitors, who were not
identified, guided the teen out through a back entrance. The children’s
grandfather, who had been asleep in the basement, also got out, officials said.
Andrew
Schwartz/For New York Daily News Rescuers could find any smoke detectors in the
home.
The two guests may have tried to put
out the fire and delayed calling 911, Ferran said. “By the time they called, we
arrived to an advanced fire,” Ferran said.
Rescuers were unable to find any
smoke detectors.
The parents, who were out ringing in
2014, came back to find their house burning, neighbors said. “They were out at
a New Year’s Eve party . . . they got home and learned their child was dead,”
said neighbor Victor Carrera. “It’s horrible.”
Fire officials said the mother,
identified by neighbors as Natalia, had to be taken away by paramedics because
she was overcome with emotion.
Neighbor Marie Bouzy said she ran to
try to rescue the children. “There was a lot of smoke and glass coming out. It
was too much,” she said. “I heard screaming, like children screaming. Then it
stopped.”