Wednesday, December 31 a fire broke out around 11:45 p.m. in an apartment (9C) on the 9th floor of the 16-story apartment complex of 220 apartments "LeFrak City" 96-02 57th Ave., Queens. Three of the four rooms in the apartment were on fire, with violent flames coming through the windows.

Fire departments indicated that the first firefighters arrived at the scene shortly before midnight. Stating that 105 firefighters from 25 units were on the scene to fight the fire in difficult conditions. Firefighters battled a hot hallway filled with smoke to get to the apartment and 5 firefighters were treated for minor injuries at hospitals in the region. 3 people unconscious were extracted from the apartment on fire.

The three victims were identified as Louise Jean-Charles, (59), Nadia Donnay, (37) ; Napoléon Michel (69). Jean-Charles and Donnay were transported to Elmhurst General Hospital and Michael was taken to Forest Hills Long Island Jewish Hospital. These three people were pronounced dead at the hospital.

Investigators believe the beginning of the fire, could have be caused by a cooking fire unattended on a stove. Fire who later then spread to the living room and back bedroom, where the victims were discovered.

A family member told reporters that the family were probably trying to make a Joumou soup, that they made each January 1st, soup that is not a New Year's tradition, but rather a celebration of the liberation of Haiti of France, which reinforces the initial assumptions, pending the final outcome of the investigation.

James Leonard, Fire Department of New York Chief of Department stated that there was apparently no smoke detectors in the apartment. Adding that this did not mean they had never been installed, only that they were not present at the time of the survey.

In a written statement managers of the LeFrak City one can read "Our deepest condolences go out to the families of those affected. We are working with the Fire Marshall to determine the cause of this incident. The building has no fire violations and the apartment was outfitted with smoke detectors as required by law. A smoke detector rider attesting to the presence of this life safety equipment was signed and initialed by the tenant in 2012."

SL/ HaitiLibre