Jewish Mother, 3 Young Children Killed In House Fire

Four members of one Jewish family, including three children, are dead after an overnight fire in Brooklyn.  Investigators are looking into the possibility that a menorah started the blaze.

Police responded to a call at 19 East 14th St. in Sheepshead Bay at about 2:15 a.m.  The bodies of the four victims were found by first responders.  They were a 40-year-old woman and three of her children, an 11-year-old boy, a 7-year-old boy and a 3-year-old girl.

Five other victims were taken to area hospitals with varying injuries.   They include the dead woman's husband and their 16-year-old daughter and 15-year-old son.  Another of the injured was a relative of the victims.

Three of the victims were taken to Staten Island University Hospital in critical condition and the other two to Maimonides Hospital with minor injuries.

Fire officials told Fox 5 News that it appears that the fire started in the front of the house and not in the kitchen area which is in the back of the house.  They are looking into the possibility that a menorah, which is used by Jews to celebrate Hanukah, could have been the cause.

WCBS TV Reports


Fox 5 Reports