Brooklyn House Fire Kills One Child, Injures Five Others

By: Vivian Lee

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Investigators are trying to figure what out sparked a house fire in Brooklyn that killed an eight-year old boy and injured his five siblings.

The fire broke out on the second floor of a two-family, three-story building on Avenue P near East 12th Street in Midwood around 9:45 p.m. yesterday.

Avigdor Krasny, age eight, was trapped by the flames in the top floor and was pronounced dead at Coney Island Hospital.

His five siblings were saved by their father, Jacob Krasny, a local rabbi. The three surviving brothers, ages three, seven and 10, and two sisters, ages one and five, are in critical condition at Staten Island University Hospital.

The children's mother is doing okay.

It took just over an hour for the fire to be brought under control, and four of the firefighters suffered minor injuries.

"A good amount of fire up there, and if you notice the peak of the roof there, it's an attic space. It's very tight quarters," said New York City Fire Department Deputy Chief Michael Marrone. "It's tough to make a quick push up there, but we got in there as soon as we could."

Neighbors praised the parents' heroics.

"Jewish father, Jewish mother, they had the heart to take the children out. It comes naturally," said family friend Joel Felberbaum.

"I think any parent, the first thing that rushes in is, 'save my children,'" said family acquaintance Richard Zarkower. "That's it, you don't think of anything else."

"He's a very, very, very special man," said another local man.

Friends paid their respects on Thursday, and many refused to be interviewed in observance of the Jewish holiday of Shemini Atzeret.

Some remarked on whether candles lit specifically for the holiday played a part.

"What I could see from my window and my friend from the second floor, there were... six, several candles lit on the table, actually," said neighbor Tiana Adams.

Fire officials say the blaze started in the apartment's kitchen, but the cause is still under investigation.

A fire marshal told NY1 that some of the first floor's windows had padlocked bars, which are illegal, but it is still unknown whether that contributed to the boy's death.