An 11-month-old baby died on Friday morning after he was badly burned by steam from a faulty radiator, according to the NYPD.
Officers were called to a Midwood apartment on East 14th Street at 6 a.m., on Jan. 19, police said. They discovered the baby unconscious, unresponsive, and suffering from steam burns inside a bedroom that was filled with steam from a leaking furnace.
Paramedics rushed the infant to Maimonides Medical Center, where he later died. Authorities have not yet released the infant’s name, pending family notification. According to ABC7, the child’s mother was feeding a sibling in another room at the time of the incident, and was being questioned by police.
The NYPD requested a Department of Buildings inspection of the apartment after the incident, per city records, “due to a faulty radiator causing steam to fill the bedroom.” DOB inspectors were on the scene on Friday afternoon but had not yet been able to access the unit due to police activity, said DOB spox David Maggiotto. The department will inspect the unit as soon as police release the scene.
The department is also inspecting the building’s boiler and boiler room, Maggiotto said, and discovered a laundry room built without DOB permits in the basement of the building. The department issued violations for Work Without a Permit and for Failure to Maintain the Building.
This is a breaking news story, check back for updates.
— Last updated 1/19/2023, 4:04 p.m.
