Staten Island Fire Claims 5 Lives
Staten Island residents awoke today to the tragic news of an early morning fire that claimed the lives of a mother, Lisa Jones, and her four young children. Apparently, two police officers on patrol early this morning smelled smoke and immediately began banging on the door of the multi-family home. Their heroic efforts lead to the rescue of 7 people but when they reached Ms. Jones upper floor apartment, the flames prevented them from rescuing Ms. Jones and her family. When fire fighters arrived, the house was fully engulfed and they were unable to save the family.
These tragic deaths should never have occurred. The fire department has said that there were no smoke detectors in the building, a violation of New York law. The law requires that the landlord must install smoke detectors in your apartment but it is your responsibility to maintain them, which includes changing batteries and testing them weekly. If the landlord hasn't installed the smoke detectors, ask him to do so immediately or install them yourselves. It is recommended that each bedroom has its own smoke detector. Follow the instructions to properly install the smoke detector as the size and shape of your ceilings may prevent the detector from warning you of a fire.
As a Staten Island resident and attorney, as well as the father of two young children, I am sickened by this sensless tragedy. In an effort to stop this from happening again, my firm will provide free smoke detectors to those Staten Island residents that are unable to afford them. If you would like a free smoke detector, or maybe just a new battery, please fill out the contact form on my blog and ask for a free smoke detector. We need to act immediately to prevent such a tragedy from ever occuring ever again.
