Terrible fire in Brooklyn

nywife

Sat, Mar 21 2015, 11:37 pm

So so sad. BDE.

I had to stop reading the articles on Facebook because so many people were commenting things like "I would die trying to save my children" and "how could a mother be selfish like that" shock

DH is a firefighter. I've been in emergency and acute care nursing for a while so I've had a lot of training in dealing with burns and other emergent situations. When you're in a circumstance of high stress your sympathetic nervous system kicks in and all you think is GET OUT. It's almost an animalistic instinct. Also, burns from fire go directly to the trachea, causing it to swell and can quickly lead to suffocation. These children were small. The chance of her being able to save them and not die herself was nill.

How dare people place blame on her.

Last edited by nywife on Sun, Mar 22 2015, 7:25 am; edited 1 time in total

IMHopinion

Sun, Mar 22 2015, 12:00 am

kb wrote:

There have been fires that started from laptops.

There was a very similar tragedy in Eretz Yisrael a couple of years ago where a father and all children (5?) perished in a terrible fire.
That one started from a laptop.

So so terrible.

boysrus

Sun, Mar 22 2015, 12:04 am

IMHopinion wrote:

There was a very similar tragedy in Eretz Yisrael a couple of years ago where a father and all children (5?) perished in a terrible fire.
That one started from a laptop.

So so terrible.

yes I remember that too. it is impossible to forget such tragedies. Yes it was 5 children, in Rechovot, a Teimani family, also I think this time of year 3 years ago if I remember correctly? Hashem yeracheim.

Last edited by boysrus on Sun, Mar 22 2015, 12:07 am; edited 2 times in total

Pooh

Sun, Mar 22 2015, 12:05 am

She jumped out to go get help! Not To save herself, she couldn't reach her kids rooms because of the Flames so she jumped out of desperation to go get help for her kids. I think this is what any mother would've done instead of succumbing to the flames just because. Any mother would do anything to go save her kids. Even jump out of a window!!! (Which severely injured her btw) tell that to ur Facebook ppl ! Maybe they'll see the other side of the story

m in Israel

Sun, Mar 22 2015, 2:16 am

kb wrote:

I think it's impossible to be safe in all situations. We have to do our best, but we are really in Hashem's hands (and have to remind ourselves about that).

Example: seatbelts are very important, but I've heard stories of car fires where the child was stuck in a car seat and could not get out.

You can have child proof windows, or you can teach your children how to climb out a window. You can't have it both ways.

We have to do everything we can to keep our families safe, and also realize we are in the hands of our Father in heaven who is taking care of us. We don't understand why He does everything... no words. It is a terrible tragedy.

I think we had this discussion on imamother once, but there definitely are child safety gates that are also easily removable by an adult or older child in case of a fire.

Like this:

http://www.guardianangelwindowguards.com/

or this

http://www.totsafe.com/proddet.....3320w

Where I live here in RBS most homes have metal bars on all windows and doors due to security fears, so they are not removable. However you can get ones with a lock that can be opened and then the gates swing open. Mamad rooms generally have those, as an additional purpose of a Mamad room is supposed to be in case of fire (the reinforced walls and doors can slow the spread of a fire into that room, making it an escape option.

It is not as fast to open as the links I posted above, but if you keep the key nearby it is also reasonably quick to unlock and open.

m in Israel

Sun, Mar 22 2015, 2:17 am

IMHopinion wrote:

There was a very similar tragedy in Eretz Yisrael a couple of years ago where a father and all children (5?) perished in a terrible fire.
That one started from a laptop.

So so terrible.

Yes, it was truly horrible. IIRC the father ran back into the house to try to get the kids out and ended up being killed as well.

etky

Sun, Mar 22 2015, 3:26 am

m in Israel wrote:

We have these on our second floor but have long forgotten where we put the keys. Not good.
I'm going to hunt for the keys today and coordinate with DH and the kids where they will be kept from now on.
Also, I wanted to contribute that we have smoke alarms and DH replaces the batteries regularly. He said that he remembers to do it according to when we change the clock - I.e. twice a year. It serves as a convenient reminder to perform an important task that can very easily be overlooked.

kitov

Sun, Mar 22 2015, 3:34 am

Dolly Welsh wrote:

We eat dinner from a warming tray, then a cold lunch on Shabbos day. We have a large hot water urn that is meant to be left on a long time, with plenty of water in it, so it doesn't burn out from being dry.

Maybe that's not customary, to have a cold Shabbos lunch.

arent you supposed to have a warm lunch because of the tzedoikim? thats what is making us all have a heating element on overnight.

Sanguine

Sun, Mar 22 2015, 3:34 am

The mother is in critical condition from smoke inhalation. She didn't just smell a little smoke and run. She was asleep and woke up too late to do anything. A fire extinguisher wouldn't have helped her unless it was right next to her bed (most people keep them in the kitchen which there was no way to get to anyway).

The only thing that would have saved their lives was SMOKE DETECTORS!! The one in my kitchen beeps every time that I burn supper. By the time anyone woke up there it was too late. Smoke detectors are cheap and need no installation. You're supposed to check them often but if you forget they make annoying little beeps if the battery is low (always on Friday night Sad

). This whole tragedy would have been prevented if they had a smoke alarm in the kitchen. For just $10... If only we could turn back the clocks.

Barbara

Sun, Mar 22 2015, 4:01 am

Sanguine wrote:

). This whole tragedy would have been prevented if they had a smoke alarm in the kitchen. For just $10... If only we could turn back the clocks.

I don't know if they would have prevented the tragedy. I do know

Quote:

Fire officials said they believe the fire slowly burned in the kitchen for awhile before anybody noticed. When flames reached the stairwell, it spread quickly to the rest of the house preventing anyone from getting downstairs and cutting off the mother from her sleeping children, according to the Times.

Please, please make CHECK SMOKE DETECTORS the next thing on your Pesach preparation list. If you didn't change the batteries when you changed the clocks, do it now. And if you don't have smoke detectors, buy them.

newme

Sun, Mar 22 2015, 6:11 am

m in Israel wrote:

Yes, it was truly horrible. IIRC the father ran back into the house to try to get the kids out and ended up being killed as well.

I have heard that the tragedy that took place in Israel where 5 children died along with the father - happened EXACTLY three years ago to the day of this fire.
What can we make of that??? What is Hashem trying to tell us????

PinkFridge

Sun, Mar 22 2015, 11:46 am

PAMOM wrote:

What is HaShem trying to tell us? That we share responsibility for ourselves (and each other).

Quite possibly, but I think we need to whisper that message meanwhile, do what you have to do, but quietly, and focus on others.
Daven for the family, that they have a refuah, and a refuas hanefesh. Daven that just as we are excellent at coming together in painful times, that we do so in joyous times and that they be plenty. Daven for Moshiach. Just keep davening, and helping and loving each other.