Did religious beliefs play a part in fire that killed 7 kids in NYC? [View all]
A "hot plate" keeping food warm in a kitchen overnight apparently started a fire that killed seven children in two-story house in Brooklyn early Saturday, New York City's fire commissioner said.
The four boys and three girls, siblings ranging in age from 5 to 15, were in upstairs bedrooms when the fire swept up from the first floor shortly after midnight in Brooklyn's south-central Midwood section, New York Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said.
The children's 45-year-old mother and one of her daughters -- a 14-year-old, police say -- also were upstairs but jumped out of windows to escape; they were in critical condition at a hospital, being treated for burns and smoke inhalation, Nigro said.
--snip--
Nigro was asked why food was being warmed overnight.
"I believe it's the Sabbath, and people keep food warm that way. They don't have to operate a stove," Nigro answered.
http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/21/us/brooklyn-fire-children-killed/index.html
So very, very sad. And preventable.