Brooklyn, NY – The heartbreaking three alarm fire that took the life of a Brooklyn man and his wife as they slept in their home early Monday morning was a tragic and avoidable accident, according to the FDNY, which released results of its investigation this afternoon.
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FDNY officials said that the massive blaze that took the lives of 61 year old Chaim Gluck and his wife Faigy was started by a disposable charcoal barbeque grill that was left unattended on the wooden deck of the family’s Borough Park home.
FDNY officials reported that there were no smoke detectors in the house to warn the family of the flames that ultimately made their way through the house and into the attic.
As previously reported on VIN News (http://bit.ly/2iFxh6j), the fire was reported at 3:47 AM and appeared to have been burning for a while by the time firefighters arrived at the scene.
The Gluck’s only unmarried child, a 19 year old daughter, had sought safety on a fire escape after failing in her attempts extricate her parents from the house. She was rescued by firefighters and taken to the hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation, with five firefighters also requiring medical attention, according to an FDNY spokesperson.
Assemblyman Dov Hikind called the tragic fire a wakeup call for the public, noting that it is easy to become complacent and not take note of the dangers all around us.
He called on the public to take stock of their own homes, looking for possible dangers including unattended fires, placing burning objects such as grills and candles on flammable surfaces and making sure that electrical appliances are in safe places to avoid potential and avoidable injuries.
“We all think that it is not going to happen to you, but even those one in a million things happen sometimes,” Hikind told VIN News. “Smoke detectors save lives. It’s that simple.”
Below video: Funeral of Chaim and Faigy Gluck.
So all the YENTAS who were calling others names yesterday for daring to suggest everyone should have working smoke detectors and fire extinguishers should feel ashamed now.
Nebech, what an avoidable tragedy.
Something doesn’t add up here, if the couple was sleeping, did the fire on the grill start by itself?
We don’t need all of the Monday morning quarterbacks accessing blame, and blaming the victims. The couple’s children, are going to grieve over this tragic accident for the rest of their lives. Hence, they undoubtedly read this column. They don’t need all of the “fire experts”, expressing their nickel and dime opinions, at this time.
No point of blaming victims. Everyone should see this as a lesson about the importance of having ‘working’ smoke detectors. Tragically a similar incident happened in Brooklyn not long ago.
and not leaving barbeque grill even after they “go out” on wooden decks, in houses or near the house
I find that the fire department is very quick to conclude there were no smoke detectors.
It’s a very easy AND NON PROVABLE way for them to close an investigation . Remember the tragedy in Flatbush when they said the same thing and the father said that was a lie, they had working smoke detectors.
The FDNY is a disgrace. They are very good at blasting their sirens and waking people up in the middle of the night to get some doughnuts. But when just around the corner they can’t get there earlier enough to possibly save these people. They are overpaid unionized thugs. Once they get to the property they destroy everything and steal as well. Huge waste of taxpayer money. Firefighters should be volunteers or privatized.