Surviving Son Of Manhattan Fire Victims Dies
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A Manhattan boy has died, nearly a week after a deadly apartment fire killed his parents and siblings.
According to a family spokesperson, 10-year-old Gonzan Joa Balbuena was taken off life support yesterday after doctors determined he was brain-dead.
His parents and three sisters were killed Saturday in the fire at the sixth floor apartment they shared at the Robert Fulton Houses in Chelsea.
The viewing for the boy's father, 40-year-old Maschay Joa Valdez, is being held today in Manhattan's Chinatown.
Firefighters say there was a hard-wired smoke detector in the apartment that was unplugged and the battery that served as backup had been removed.
The New York City Housing Authority says the detector was checked twice earlier this year and worked properly both times.
Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta wrote in an editorial letter today that two-thirds of the 95 city residents who died last year in fires did not have working smoke alarms.
"A smoke alarm is your family's protector. Removing the battery or disconnecting the wire that connects it to your building's electrical system puts everyone's life at risk," wrote Scoppetta. "Even though fire deaths are at historic lows, every death is one too many. Many of them are preventable. Keeping a working smoke alarm in your home is critical to every New Yorker's safety."