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NEW YORK (WCBS) — A woman and teenage girl are dead, and three other children are hospitalized following a suspicious fire overnight in East New York, Brooklyn.
Police say someone set fire to the first floor stairs, and an accelerant was found in the hallway.
Firefighters responded around 2:15 a.m. to a three-story building on Fountain Avenue near Calhoun Street.
“You just see the flames, you see the fire truck, you heard kids screaming,” neighbor Lashanna Bray told CBS2.
A 36-year-old woman was pronounced dead on the scene. A 17-year-old girl also died after being rushed to the hospital in critical condition.
Three other children — two girls, ages 14 and 10, and a 9-year-old boy — were also hospitalized with critical injuries.
Neighbors say the victims were well known in the community and owned a deli down the street.
“That’s my family, I love them to death, and this just blew my mind,” said neighbor Michael McMahon.
First responders had to keep McMahon back as he tried to save the children.
“They’re a fixture here,” he said.
“They’re a pillar of the community,” said Bray.
The store was closed Tuesday morning, a rare sight for neighbors, who say the popular breakfast spot would only close on Muslim holidays. They’re stunned anyone would want to harm them or their home.
“Nobody never harmed them. Nobody ever said, ‘blah, blah, blah,’ anything,” Bray said. “They go in there, he cracks jokes.”
FDNY Deputy Assistant Chief Chuck Downey struggled to give the details, saying, “Excuse me, just very emotional right now. A lot of victims right here.”
“Any time you see a whole family like this together, and at this time of the night, and the amount of fire, the emotion outside – family members or neighbors, I don’t know at this time, but it was very emotional,” he said.
He said crews responded in two minutes, and the fire was under control within an hour.
Manuel Leon’s daughter made the 911 call.
“I tried to help them, but I was too late,” he said.
A man was also taken to the hospital in stable condition, and one firefighter was treated for minor injuries.
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