In Union city (new Jersey), in an apartment building on 25th Street (between Bergenline and New York Ave.), during a fire killed 2 children – myleene wood (5 years) and her cousin Jason Gonzalez (2 years). A third child, brother Jason, 8-year-old Christian, was taken in critical condition to hospital, where he died several hours later. Two children and one woman remain in critical condition and another man was taken to hospital in stable.
The tragedy occurred on Friday, July 13, at about 9 am. One of the children was able to get on the roof of the house to call for help. Arriving firefighters quickly got him up the stairs and helped me down.
WATCH boy on the burning roof of the Union City building wave for help; rescued by firefighters. Multiple witnesses say after he climbed down the ladder safely he walked away on his own. pic.twitter.com/3eqQiuKSEO
— CeFaan Kim (@CeFaanKim) July 14, 2018
Witnesses say the boy was able to leave the scene.
But remaining inside a 3-storey house the children much less fortunate. So the fire quickly spread through the floor that they left no chance.
Sad update. The 5-year-old girl and 2-year-old boy killed in Union City 5 alarm fire were cousins. The girl’s devastated mother says her father is in Honduras. She called him a few hours after mom learned of what happened. It was a heartbreaking phone call. pic.twitter.com/qLDbxltitH
— CeFaan Kim (@CeFaanKim) July 13, 2018
The neighbors tried to get to the apartment, which was locked dead, but it was too late, acrid smoke that in a heartbeat filled the room, knocking out the Windows and through the roof. One of the tenants, Eudes Hernandez, who until the arrival of firefighters climbed to the second floor, said he knocked on a few doors, «and when I tried to enter, he saw that a thick smoke is everywhere.»
Mother of the deceased girl was not home at the time. About tragedy she has learnt a few hours later. The woman said that the father of myleene is now in Honduras, and he’s been told terrible news.
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Firefighters took about 30 minutes to subdue the fire.
2-year-old boy and 5-year-old girl killed in a 5 alarm fire at multi-family home in Union City. Dozens hurt. Good Samaritan says residents were trapped — “I opened the door. There was too much smoke to go in. I tried kicking the door down, it wasn’t not budging.” pic.twitter.com/JZtEWyLmV3
— CeFaan Kim (@CeFaanKim) July 13, 2018
The fire damaged not only the tenants, but also firefighters: 18 of them were given medical assistance.
We conducted an investigation, which will show what led to this tragedy.
Earlier in the week we reported on a large fire in Brooklyn because of collapsed power lines.
