A fast-moving fire that engulfed an apartment in Midwood claimed the life of an 11-year-old girl on Monday.
Fire officials believe a space heater may have caused the blaze that killed young Shirr Teved inside her Ocean Parkway home near Foster Avenue at 10:20 pm, although investigators have not reached a definitive ruling.
One firefighter from Ladder 147 sustained seriously injuries after he become trapped in the burning home while attempting to extract the girl. Paramedics rushed him to Cornell University Medical Center, where he was treated inside a hyperbaric chamber. Firefighters say he is doing “ok.”
Once she was pulled from the burning building, authorities rushed the girl to Maimonides Medical Center, where she perished soon after.
More than 100 firefighters and EMS personnel rushed to the scene, where smoke eaters said they were met with heavy fire blowing out of the first floor of the three-story brick home. A large amount of debris piled inside the home made it difficult to move and fed the fire, firefighters said.
The injured firefighter from Ladder 147 was able to make his way past the inferno and to the back bedroom of the first floor, where he found the young girl unconscious.
Firefighters say he tried to get out the back windows, but his escape was blocked by window bars at which point he became low on air and called a “mayday.”
Other firefighters were able to reach him and the young girl, but it was too late for Teved. The fire was under control by 11:50 p.m., but by then, debris was already piled up on the driveway.
“look at all that stuff piled up,” said one firefighter. “We had to get through that.”
