A fast-moving New Year’s Eve fire in a LeFrak City apartment killed three family members.
Photo Courtesy of Zachary Korb/Flickr
An accidental cooking fire on New Year’s Eve tore through a 9th-floor LeFrak City apartment, claiming the lives of three family members, according to the city Fire Department and published reports.
The victims—Napoleon Michel, 69, his wife Louise Jean-Charles, 59, and their 37-year-old niece Nadia Donnay—lived in the 57th Avenue apartment which, according to fire marshals, had no working smoke alarms.
The Fire Department received the call at 11:46 p.m., and arrived on scene three minutes and 26 seconds later; they brought the blaze under control in about an hour and 40 minutes. In addition to the three victims, five firefighters were taken to area hospitals with non-life threatening injuries.
The following day, the FDNY Fire Safety Education Unit handed out fire-safety information to LeFrak residents. According to an FDNY spokesman, 3/4 of all fatal fires have no working smoke alarms.
By Michael V. Cusenza
