Gair, Gair, Conason, Rubinowitz, Bloom, Hershenhorn, Steigman & Mackauf is a New York Plaintiff's personal injury law firm specializing in automobile accidents, construction accidents, medical malpractice, products liability, police misconduct and all types of New York personal injury litigation.

Articles Posted in Explosion and Fire Accidents

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Staten Island fire injured 20 firefightersTwo elderly women died in separate fire accidents in Queens on Monday. The first accident occurred early morning Monday around 2:10 am in the Rockaways, Queens. A fire caused by careless smoking quickly spread through the 15th floor of  a high rise apartment located at 7-11 Seagirt Ave. There was no smoke alarm in the house. The 71 year old woman who was living in the apartment died in the fire.

Later on during the day another fire caused by an electrical  extension killed 82 year old Audrey Hebling. The woman was found unconscious in the kitchen of her house located at 252nd Street between 87th Road and 87th Drive in Bellrose Manor. Again there was no smoke alarm in the house.

Last week-end the FDNY also had to battle a massive blaze in Staten Island during which 20 of them got injured, including 4 seriously.  The fire that destroyed several properties on Steinway Ave was sparked by a kid who was playing with a lighter.

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Harleen Maggo died in a NYC fire accidentA Queens Village family who was celebrating an upcoming wedding was caught in a massive fire that quickly ravaged their house killing 3 of them and injuring many others. The house located on 211th Street and 93rd Road didn’t seem to have working smoke detectors. 32 year old Harleen Maggo (see picture), a mother of two and her parents Ragvir Kaur-Kainth, 82, and Pyara Kainth, 87  all died in the fire that erupted a little bit before midnight on Saturday night. Harleen’s two children, were also trapped in the fire but were able to be rescued by the firefighters. The 8 year old girl was in critical condition while the 6 year old boy was stable. Seven other people who were also trapped in the fire were transported to the hospital with serious injuries.  Harleen Maggo had been able to escape but she decided to go back in the house on fire to try to save her parents. She never made it back outside. The house was full of wedding guests partying when the fire started. Investigators are still trying to figure out the cause of the fire. Read more in the NY Daily News  Picture source: Facebook

No working smoke alarm either in another NYC fire that erupted 6 hours later

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Two women died after their home caught fire in Queens, NYC.  The two women were an elderly mother and her daughter living on Wheatley Street in Far Rockaway.  The two women had been living in the house for 20 years. The mother was around eighty years old. Her daughter was a nurse. The fire erupted around 4:00 am on Monday and quickly spread throughout the house.  More than a hundred firemen were called to the rescue to fight the blaze. According to witnesses the fire spread so fast that they had great difficulties to get to the victims. When they finally were able to get them out they were rushed to the hospital but it was too late. They both died. Investigation is ongoing to determine what caused the fire.

Read more in the NY Daily News

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Dilber Kubic a contractor accused of manipulating the gas line that led to the fatal explosion of a building in the lower east side in March 2015 is back at it. The contractor who was arrested after the accident is now doing illegal construction work in Harlem. Kubic is due to appear in court on March 23rd for the 2nd Ave accident.

MULTIPLE VIOLATIONS OPENED AGAINST THE BUILDING

According to people living in the building on West 154St in Harlem, Kubic was doing demolition work in 3 one-bedroom units to convert them into 2 two-bedrom units. Kubic doesn’t have any permit for this job. A broker for the building told the NY Daily News that he stopped working for the building after the alleged  illegal work started. He also filed a complaint that is being investigated by the office of Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance. Investigators were unable to enter the building on Thursday and posted a notice for the landlord to get back to them. Journalists from the NY Daily News were able to get in and talk to tenants. They said contractors gutted all the walls in the apartments making terrible noise. The Daily News was also contacted by Joe Yusef owner of Allstate Home Remodeling who told the Newspaper that he hired Kubic to work for him. The News also called the landlord who replied that he didn’t know which apartments the News journalist was talking about. The building conditions are scary and tenants are dealing with mold, roaches and crumbling infrastructure. There are 18 violations opened with the Department of Buildings including 2 for defective elevators. In the past the landlord paid a $10,000 fine for not submitting papers to renovate the exterior of the building. He has a history of non-compliance. Read more in the NY Daily News

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Two people died and 9 were injured in a fire accident in New York City. The fire started on the first floor of a building located on Hoffman Street near 87th Street in Belmont, Bronx around 1:30 am on Monday morning. After the fire broke out in one of the apartments on the first floor, tenants ran away without closing the door behind them to prevent flames from spreading. The fire quickly engulfed the rest of the building trapping residents on the second floor.  The scene was extremely chaotic as firefighters had to fight the flames to make their way upstairs to save the residents. 11 of them including a 7 year old girl were transported to the hospital, some with critical burn injuries. Two of them died shortly after.

Last December a similar fire accident occurred in the same neighborhood killing 13 people. The fire propagated in a similar manner in the building after a door was left opened by tenants as they were escaping their burning apartment. (Read previous post).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9zX2HV5k7o

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After 13 people died and 4 were critically injured in a fire accident in New York City, the FDNY  reminds New Yorkers that a simple move can save lives. If you are fleeing a room on fire, shut the door behind you! In apartment buildings this simple action can prevent the fire from spreading to hallways and stairs. In houses, closing a door can save the whole structure. Above all all it can prevent others from being injured or from dying.

Last month, a fire started in the kitchen of an apartment located at 2363 Prospect Ave in Belmont. A young mother was in the kitchen and ran away leaving the kitchen door opened behind her. This allowed the fire to spread upstairs and then throughout the entire building. 12 people died in the fire including four children. 4 other people were critically injured. Among them was a man who died from his injuries a few days later. The FDNY believes that if the kitchen door had been closed, the deaths and injuries may have been prevented.

If you find yourself in a situation were you have to flee from a fire just remember one thing: Close the Door!

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A 12 year old boy died in a fire accident in Queens, NYC. Thomas Curly was sleeping in his bedroom Sunday around 3:00 am when a fire erupted in the apartment he was living in with his family on Ocean Promenade near Beach 123rd Street in Rockaway Park. Thomas was living on the sixth floor of a five story building with his grandfather, his mother and his mother’s boyfriend. All of them were able to escape except for Thomas who got stuck in his bedroom. According to investigators, the fire was accidentally set by someone smoking in the apartment. Additionally there were no smoke alarms in the apartment. Smoke alarms are required by law in New York City. They may have saved the life of the young boy.

A few hours later another fire erupted in Harlem on First Ave near Tito Puente Way.  The fire ravaged an apartment on the seventh floor of a 32 story building. A 64 year old woman was found dead by the firefighters. Another victim was transported to the hospital. Read more in the NY Daily News

 

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Defective Hoverboard Lazy BoardDespite the many fire accidents and injuries caused by defective lithium-ion battery packs in hoverboards, the toy remains among the most popular holiday gifts. If you or your kids own a self balancing scooter or if you are planning to buy one as a gift you should visit the Consumer  Product Safety Commission website and check on the recent Self Balancing Scooter recalls. Here are some of the most recently recalled models:

  • The Layz Board hoverboard was recently the subject of a second warning by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. According to the agency this hoverboard caused a fire on October 23, 2017, in Manchester Township, Pennsylvania, which destroyed one town home and damaged four others. The hoverboard was the object of a previous warning in May 2017 after two young girls died in a house fire caused by the Layz Board hoverboard on March 10, 2017, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
  • Salvage World just recalled 700 Smart Balance Wheel self-balancing Scooters/Hoverboards. The battery can overheat and pose a risk of smoking, exploding or catching fire
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22 year old Joanna Mei is responsible for the fire that killed two people and injured 10 others in Dyker Heights, Brooklyn, on Thursday. The 22 year old nursing student was charged with two counts of murder and arson. Mei told the police that she was upset with the trash filling the hallway and with the death of a relative several years ago. She explained that she set a garbage can on fire and then felt bad about it and tried to kick the can to stop the fire. Instead the burning rubble spread on the floor and reached some nearby gasoline which erupted into flames. Then the fire quickly started to spread all over the building. There were no smoke detectors in the whole building. Specially trained dogs sniffed gasoline on Mei clothes as well as in other spots of the building including on the third floor where the two victims were living. The victims, 58 year old Xi Huang and 56 year old Feng Xu were a couple from China. They had moved into the building a little less than a year ago. Mei also lived on the third floor.

Read more in the NY Daily News

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gas-metersTo prevent dangerous gas explosions or other gas accidents in New York City, the New York City Council passed the Gas Piping Work Civil Penalty Amnesty Program last spring.  This program that will end soon offers home owners the opportunity to bring potentially unsafe gas piping work up to code compliance without being subjected to any penalties. Home owners have until October 5th to apply for a permit. In most cases the Department of Building will authorize the request the same day as it was submitted.  For more information email LAA-Amnesty@buildings.nyc.gov read this Patch article

This amnesty program was created after investigations in recent deadly NYC gas explosions concluded that explosions were caused by negligent or illegal installations of pipes. In 2014 an explosion in an East Harlem building caused the death of 8 people. Last year another explosion in the East Village destroyed 3 buildings and killed two people.

Picture: courtesy of DOB

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