Thirteen elderly New Yorkers have died following fires this winter over a deadly six-week span in a continuing trend FDNY officials called, “very, very concerning.”
The spike 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 had just beaten cancer and a 90-year-old sharecropper’s daughter from Georgia who dedicated her life to teaching.
“This year’s percentage is higher than we’ve experienced in the past,” FDNY Chief Fire Marshal Dan Flynn told the News.
Of the 59 fire fatalities across the city this year so far, Flynn said 37, or 64 percent, were 65 years or older. Last year at this time, the city had seen 73 fire fatalities, and only 32 of those people were 65 years or older.
“That’s a very, very concerning statistic,” he said.
Flynn added that the 20% jump in elderly fire deaths this year is especially worrisome, given only about 13% of the city’s population is 65 or older.
Though he couldn’t point to any particular reasons for this year’s spike, Flynn explained that elderly New Yorkers are generally more vulnerable to fires.
“A lot of these people have been in their apartments for a very long time, and their appliances and their electrical components in their apartment have probably degraded over the course of time. That’s definitely one issue that we see,” Flynn said, adding that the city’s most common fire cause is electrical.
Other factors that put the elderly at risk include being more prone to using space heaters and less likely to be able to maintain equipment in their homes, including smoke detectors, Flynn said.
“They’re not as able-bodied, so they’re not as capable of fleeing as somebody younger, maybe as mobile,” said Flynn. “And if they do sustain some type of injury from these fires, their chances of recovery may be less than somebody who’s in better health that is younger.”
Because many elderly people live alone, they also have worse odds of detecting the fire early on and being able to escape, the chief said.
Beyond the statistics, the fires have taken a tremendous human toll.
Two victims had survived cancer
Alice Johnson, a 90-year-old woman who outlived her lung cancer prognosis more than a dozen years ago, died in a fast-moving fire that broke in a residential building where she lived on E. 168th St. near Boston Road in East Tremont about 9 p.m. on Nov. 18, officials said.
Johnson, a sharecropper’s daughter from Georgia, moved to New York City when she was 17, dedicated her life to teaching and once ran for a state Assembly seat, her son, Richard Johnson said.
“Being raised by my mother was absolutely magical,” said the grieving son. “My mother was my first teacher. I can credit any success I have in life to her. She also was a mother to the community.”
Johnson’s story almost ended sooner, in 2012, when she was given just six months to live after being diagnosed with lung cancer.
“My mother was a godly woman and a prayerful woman, and she was here for 13 more years,” the son said. “It’s the miracle that so many people pray for, but it happened for my mother.”
Fire marshals determined the fire was sparked by electrical wiring.
Robert Germain, 89, had just beaten cancer when he died in a fire that raged through his second-floor apartment on 194th St. near Hollis Court Blvd. in Auburndale around 8:00 p.m. on Nov. 13, officials and neighbors said.
After battling through “hoarder conditions,” firefighters found Germain laying lifeless in a bedroom, officials said.
He died at the scene.
“He was very friendly and known throughout the neighborhood, never a bad word. Never got into any dispute. He would say hello and offer help anyway he can,” Germain’s neighbor, Manuel Ceja, told the News, 73, recalled. “He was very mobile, he was riding his bike up until his mid 80s.”
The senior lived alone and had no children.
“At some point when he was younger he did engraving. He had a workshop,” Ceja added.
Fire marshals determined an extension cord sparked the blaze, officials said.
Burning candles
Dominican immigrant, Carmen Angeles, 86, died after a fire erupted in her sixth-floor apartment on 12th St. near 41st Ave. at NYCHA’s Queensbridge South Houses just after 2:15 a.m. on Nov. 15, officials said.
EMS rushed her to Mount Sinai Queens, where she died a short time later. Fire marshals determined that the fire was sparked by a burning candle.
Maribel Cabrera said she befriended Angeles 24 years ago when they lived next door to each other in Queens. Though she moved to Connecticut over a decade ago, Cabrera would still travel to the city once a week to see Angeles, who had no relatives left in the states.
Angeles was born in the Domincan Republic and immigrated to Queens in the 70s, Cabrera said. She worked as a cleaner at a hotel in New Jersey, until she was injured on the job and became disabled.
“She was very friendly. She loved and cared for everybody. She loved music. Any kind of music. She loved to do anything to be around people,” said Cabrera.
“I’m devastated,” the friend said solemnly.
On Dec. 17, a 70-year-old woman died from her injuries after a fire spread in her 14th floor apartment on Crescent St. near 33rd Rd. in Astoria.
“She was a lovely person. I’ve known her my entire life,” said one neighbor who grew up in the building. “One of those people that was very, very high spirited and always had something positive to say.”
The victim, whose name has not been released yet, was a mother of two, said the neighbor.
Fire marshals determined the fire was also caused by a burning candle, officials said.
Family devastated
On Nov. 23, 95-year-old Joyce Buncom died in a blaze that ripped through the house where she lived with her daughter on 202nd St. near 113th Ave. in St. Albans about 7:50 a.m., FDNY officials said.
Theodore Parisienne / New York Daily News; Courtesy of family
Joyce Buncom, 95 (inset, left) was killed and her 6-year-old great-granddaughter Aylani Burgos (inset, left) was critically injured in a fire at the family’s home in St. Albans, Queens on Sunday morning.
Buncom’s 6-year-old great-granddaughter, Aylani Burgos, also died, succumbing to injuries she sustained in the blaze. Burgos, who lived in South Hempstead with her mother, Janai Grant, was staying with her great-grandmother for the night when the fire started in the cellar, and quickly spread to the second floor, trapping them.
Buncom’s daughter, 68-year-old Paula Buncom-Grant, who lived at the house, was also taken to Long Island Jewish Valley Stream Hospital in critical condition. An online fundraiser created for the family stated Buncom-Grant remained in the hospital fighting for her life.
“It wasn’t her time to go,” Grant said of Buncom. “I will remember her always having that glass of wine with ice and spinning it around with her fingers and being the life of the party and dancing. That’s what I’m going to remember the most about my grandma.”
Born in 1930, Buncom stood only 4-foot-11 and worked as a former correction officer and gym teacher. She and her husband moved to St. Albans in the 1960s. An avid traveler who loved bingo, crocheting and dancing, she was a devoted member of her local St. Pascal Baylon Church for over 60 years. She continued going to Mass every Sunday and remained active in church life well into her 90s, Grant said.
Fire marshals had yet to determine the cause of the Nov. 23 fire, FDNY officials said.
Searing heat and smoke
On Dec. 18, 80-year-old Elba Nydia Lopez died after a fire erupted inside her first-floor apartment on 80th St. near 37th Ave. in Jackson Heights about 5:10 a.m., FDNY officials and her niece said.
Firefighters found Lopez dead in the apartment as the fire was put out.
“She’s a nice, nice woman,” said upstairs neighbor Harold Puente, who scrambled out of his second-floor apartment to escape the searing heat and thick smoke coming from the elderly woman’s apartment. “I have known her for a long time living there.”
Puente, 55, has lived in the building for three decades. Lopez had lived there longer, he said.
Fire marshals were still working to determine the cause of the fire.
Homebound, trapped by flames
Rebecca Ellington, 74, died after a stovetop fire burned out of control and swept through her fifth-floor apartment E. 81st St. apartment near 1st Ave. in the Upper East Side on Nov. 12, according to officials and her family.
The septuagenarian had lived in the walk-up apartment for over 20 years, but had recently “gotten bad with her legs,” according to her younger sister.
“She started becoming more and more homebound,” the sister, who did not want to be named said. “It’s very heartbreaking. It was quite a shock, especially the circumstances around it.”
“She was a lovely person. She made people laugh a lot,” she said.
The super at Ellington’s Yorkville building said she used to paint and hang birdhouses on their block and was very active up until she had an operation several months ago.
She also beautified the street by planting flowers, he added.
Ellington’s step-sister, who had lost touch with her after both their parents died over a decade ago, was shocked to hear she had died.
“I always thought she was great,” the 59-year-old step-sister, who lives in North Carolina, said in a phone interview. “She was just mature, and funny, and she didn’t suffer fools if you know what I mean.”
A warm-hearted mother
Catherine Same Mahouve, 75, died from smoke inhalation after a fire broke out inside her seventh-floor apartment on Main St. near River Rd. on Roosevelt Island about 6:00 p.m. on Nov. 15, according to her daughter and officials.
“I heard about the fire hours later, I was coming home from work and I heard there was a fire on the 7th floor where I was living,” Justine Mahouve said. “I thought my mother was safe. I was calling her almost 30 times, she would usually answer after two or three calls but she wasn’t answering.”
Mahouve was pronounced dead at the scene, officials said. Fire marshals determined the fire was sparked by electrical wiring.
“My mother was a very kind and warm hearted person, I really miss her because she was a very good cook,” the daughter said.
Mahouve was retired and formerly worked as the first female Minister Counselor at the Permanent Mission of Cameroon to the United Nations, according to an online fundraiser created for the family. She enjoyed going to the local library, spending time with her friends in the neighborhood and cooking.
Keeping older residents safe
In a PSA posted on social media in November, Flynn urged residents to formulate escape plans with their elderly relatives, friends and neighbors in case of fires.
“Having a clear, simple and practiced escape plan can make all the difference in getting out safely,” Flynn said, recommending families visit FDNYSmart.org for a list of winter weather fire safety tips.
First and foremost, New Yorkers should have working smoke detectors and cleared pathways to exits and fire escapes, the chief said.
“I would encourage every family member, if you have a grandmother, grandfather, or your parents are elderly, go to their house and see what may hurt them in some way,” said Flynn. “Make sure that electrical practices are responsible, that they’re not overloading the outlets, they’re not keeping their space heaters too close to the bed that may cause a fire. Check in on them.”
“With the holidays approaching, everyone’s getting together, now’s the time to have these conversations,” he continued.
If a fire does break out, Flynn said to put a closed door between yourself and the flames, and to immediately call 911.
“Don’t call the super. Don’t call your son,” he said. “Our response times are about four minutes from when you make that call. So we’ll be there very, very quickly. Before your son will get there even.”
“And let us figure it out. Don’t try to put it out on your own. That’s what we do,” he added.
With Thomas Tracy, Colin Mixson, Rebecca White and Kerry Burke
