Fatal fire strikes Bensonhurst

It is frigid today in Brooklyn with partly cloudy skies. When I went to walk the dog, my neighbor told me that there had been a fire in the neighborhood that started at 5am, killing 3 people. The fire was a few block from my home underneath the elevated train. This is the news release…

Three Dead, Three Injured in Bensonhurst Blaze

NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Three people are dead, and several others were injured, including a 2-month-old infant, in a three-alarm fire in Brooklyn.
The early morning blaze happened at 2033 86th Street in the Bensonhurst section of the borough.
The fire engulfed the three-story building on a busy commercial strip, consuming a ground floor restaurant and apartments on the upper floors.
The infant suffered a head injury and was listed in extremely serious condition, officials said. It was reported the infant was thrown from a second story window.
The stairwell of the building collapsed trapping the victims, according to officials. Firefighters found two of the bodies on the third floor, the third was found on the second floor.
Thirteen firefighters were also injured in the blaze. It was not known what floor the fire started on...

Update: In total 5 people were killed and 17 injured. The fire started at the foot of the outside door which blocked the way of any trying to escape. FDNY is calling the fire very suspect.

When I went for milk the site of the fire was before me. FDNY officials were still on the block and onlookers were across the street. On the street the story was a little different. The parents on the second floor dropped 2 children to safety. One child fell on their head causing the trauma. We can easily identify with the parent who was desperately trying to save their children realizing that they might die in the fire. I think our imaginations fill in all the blanks. The family was said to be a Latin American family. There was a group of Latin Men gathered across the street being held back by the yellow police ribbon. They were very quite and huddled together to ward off the chilling wind. Lights were still flashing from the fire trucks and the fire men were putting away the equipment. Reporters from all the major stations were on the scene trying to get a story of interest. With the smell of smoke in your face, the eerie reality of death hung in the air. When you looked at the building you imagined agonizing faces trying to escape the fire with no avail.

Death seems to surround us all. There is a nursing home out on Coney Island called Sea Crest. As nursing homes go it is clean and nice. Evelyn Moen, my godson’s grandmother was placed there in December. She turned 87 in December and was placed there after she suffered brain seizures. This was to be for a period of rehabilitation. As time went on it is becoming a final resting place. Because it is so close to my home, I am able to visit her frequently. We talk about old times and pray. Our prayer time is what she looks forward to. She is very content in her current situation, rarely complaining about anything. She has applied and has been accepted at the Norwegian Christian Home. Her son has not been doing well since his brother’s death and does not have the energy or the desire to facilitate her making the transfer. She is helpless as are we all since her son has power of attorney. Many people at this home are not as lucky as Evelyn. Most never get visits and are placed in a small room to sit and sleep away most of their days.

One man at the home would always talk to me. He is in his early 50’s. His name is William. William lived in East New York for most of his life. For nearly 30 years he worked at the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City. His job was to scrape up the gum that people would toss on the floors. He told me that the building was large and with the amount of chewers passing through the building everyday, cleaning up the gum was a full time job. Several years back William suffered a stroke. He has been in several homes since that time, claiming Sea Crest to be one of the best home.

William sits by the front door greeting people as they come and go. He says that it helps to pass the day. He also lets me know who has come to visit Evelyn. For that I buy him Hot Chocolate. William looks forward to being able to go home sometime in April. He is walking little by little.

It would seem that the events such as a fatal fire and the final days in a nursing home point to the fragile element to life. It is fragile and brief. Death constantly snaps at us. One of the great discussions that I have with Evelyn is about her going to be with God in Heaven. She passionately looks forward to that moment. However she says over and over that until that time God has things her to do.

Several weeks ago I was early to catch the bus with Eric. I went into the park and sat to be quiet. A young man in his 20’s sat on the bench next to mine. He set up a little drum and was practicing a rhythm pattern. The beat was simple and uncluttered with any other instruments. Listening I was reminded how the beat goes on. Life itself moves forward. Over and over again we are reminded to seize the moments that pass by quickly. My mother gave me a picture one time and on it read, “Only one life will soon be past, Only what is done for Christ will Last” Let us determine ourselves to be servants of Christ, loving and encouraging those whom we come into contact with.