BFF-08 Death toll from New York building fire hits 13

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Death toll from New York building fire hits 13

NEW YORK, Jan 5, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – The death toll from a fire that ripped
through an apartment building in New York’s Bronx district last week has
risen to 13, after a 27-year-old man died of his injuries, police said
Thursday.

The latest victim was identified as Holt Francis. Three other members of
his family — wife Karen and their two young daughters — were already
confirmed dead in the December 28 blaze, the deadliest in New York in more
than 25 years.

Investigators found that a three-year-old boy playing with the stove in his
family apartment accidentally ignited the fire.

Flames shot up through the building’s stairwell after the boy’s mother fled
her apartment with her two children, leaving the door ajar, the city’s fire
commissioner told reporters.

BSS/AFP/RY/11:10 hrs