Bronx Fire Leaves Four Dead, Including Three Children, Officials Say
The Bronx fire department lost four personnel – two firefighters and two police officers – in a ‘tragic’ blaze that killed four of their children (all under the age of 6) and injured seven others, officials said.
The fire, which broke out in the Queens section of the Bronx, was brought under control by around midnight, Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said. It was initially reported as a fatality with the bodies removed by midmorning.
It appears the blaze began in a bedroom, Nigro told reporters at the scene.
“We received word about 5:45 a.m. that a structure fire was burning in the 2nd floor. As a first response unit responded, we found ourselves up against [the] wall with our backs to the wall, and we had a large area in which to respond,” Nigro said.
The fire department lost two firefighters, as well as two police officers and a civilian.
There are no indications as to what started the fire, and the fire department has no motive or suspect at this point, Nigro said.
Police officers found the bodies of a 4-year-old girl and a 2-year-old boy trapped in the rubble at a nearby apartment building.
The two children, along with a 2-year-old boy found alive Thursday morning in a home about a mile away also died in the fire, Nigro said.
The two children were identified by family members as:
*Samantha D’Iorio, a 2-year-old girl, of the Bronx;
*Isaiah D’Iorio, a 2-year-old boy, of the Bronx;
*Maddie D’Iorio, a 3-year-old girl, of the Bronx;
*Za’yonna D’Iorio, a 3-year-old girl, of Harlem; and
*Shaqanda D’Iorio, a 3-year-old girl, of the Bronx.
Police said the four children were members of different families who were renting an apartment building that houses 26 households.
Of the