Two elderly women suffered fatal injuries in two fires in Brookly and Queens that erupted within two hours of each other. According to a report in The New York Daily News, the back-to-back fires came after another person died in a separate Brooklyn fire in Sheepshead Bay early morning on Jan. 29. FDNY officials say later that day, firefighters were dispatched to a six-story apartment building on 35th Street near 31st Avenue in Astoria, Queens, after a fire broken out on the third floor.
NYC Fires Involving the Elderly
A woman in her 90s and a 61-year-old woman were removed from the apartment and taken to Mount Sinai Queens, where the older woman died. The younger woman was listed in critical condition at the hospital. Less than two hours later, early morning on Jan. 30. Another fire broke out in a six-story building in Brooklyn, just a block from Prospect Park on Winthrop Street near Flatbush Avenue in Prospect Leffert Gardens. Firefighters battling the blaze found an 81-year-old woman deceased inside a fourth-floor apartment, officials said. The victims’ names in either fire were not immediately released.
These fires within a 24-hour period come about a month after the FDNY reported that 13 elderly New Yorkers died during a deadly six-week period between early November and mid-December in fires — a trend that officials call “very, very concerning.”
Last year’s increase in fire deaths among the city’s senior citizens included a 95-year-old Queens grandmother who died along with her great-granddaughter, an 89-year-old Bronx man who was a cancer survivor, and a 90-year-old sharecropper’s daughter from Georgia who had dedicated her life to teaching, the Daily News reports. In a PSA posted on social media in November, FDNY Chief Fire Marshal Dan Flynn urged residents to come up with escape plans with their elderly relatives, friends and neighbors in case of a fire. He also emphasized the need for working smoke detectors and cleared pathways to exits and fire escapes.
Senior Citizens Are More Vulnerable
Elderly individuals are particularly vulnerable to fires due to a combination of physical, cognitive and social factors. As people age, they may experience reduced mobility, slower reaction times and impaired vision or hearing, making it harder to detect fires early or escape quickly. Chronic health conditions and the use of medications can further limit their ability to respond effectively in emergencies. Living alone, which is common among older adults, also means there may be no one present to assist during a fire.
Property owners and managers play a critical role in protecting elderly tenants from fire-related dangers. They should ensure that all rental units are equipped with working smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors, ideally with both audible and visual alerts. Installing automatic sprinkler systems and fire-resistant building materials can greatly reduce the spread of fire. Clear, well-lit, and accessible exit routes are essential, especially for tenants with mobility aids. Property owners/managers should also conduct regular fire safety inspections, promptly address electrical or heating hazards and provide fire safety information tailored to elderly residents.
Contacting an Experienced Lawyer
Whether you have been living as a tenant at a private apartment complex or in a public housing unit (NYCHA) (the Projects), please remember that you have legal rights. If you or a loved one has been injured as a result of dangerous conditions, the experienced New York personal injury attorneys with the Law Offices of Kenneth A. Wilhelm can help you better understand your legal rights and options and also fight hard to recover just compensation for you. It is in the best interest of injured victims and their families in such cases to contact an experienced personal injury lawyer before contacting the people responsible for the injuries, and definitely before contacting or communicating with any insurance company, or their lawyers, investigators, or adjusters.
For over 54 years, our skilled attorneys have established a proven track record of assisting injured victims. One of our clients — a hot water burn victim — secured $750,000 in damages from the property owner and manager. Our firm also obtained a $985,000 settlement out of a $1 million insurance policy for two people who suffered smoke inhalation injuries because the homeowner did not have smoke detectors installed and the $15,000 that was left on the insurance policy was for a person that we did not represent. Another of our clients recovered $2,500,000 due to a faulty space heater. Also, one of our clients obtained a verdict for $43,940,000 and another of our clients got a verdict for $23,500,000, both in medical malpractice cases.
Please contact us TOLL FREE 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-WORK-4-YOU (1-800-967-5496). WE CAN EVEN COME TO YOU. There is no attorneys’ fee unless we recover money for you. We can also help with personal injury, lead poisoning, paraplegia cases and medical malpractice cases including, brachial plexus palsy (Erb’s palsy) and cerebral palsy cases in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, or Florida. If you have been seriously injured in any of the 50 U.S. states, please call us and we will try to help you with your case.
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