Two Union City children were fighting for their lives at the end of last week after a fire tore through the second-floor apartment they shared with their parents on Bergenline Avenue.
The Monday-morning blaze, which according to North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue officials began in a second-floor bedroom where the children were sleeping, caused extensive damage to the second floor apartment and the building immediately adjacent. A store directly below the residence appeared relatively undamaged.
“This was a small but very intense fire,” said NHRFR Chief Brion McEldowney. “There was a lot of clothing and debris in the room which acted as fuel for the fire.”
As of press time, the two children, four-month-old Maria Sanchez and her brother, 3-year-old Jose Sanchez Jr., were listed in critical condition at St. Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, to which they were airlifted. The children, according to fire officials, were first taken to area hospitals where they were evaluated. It was quickly ascertained that they were in dire need of immediate and comprehensive burn care, so they were taken by the State Police Medivac helicopter to St. Barnabas.
According to fire officials, the blaze is still under investigation but doesn’t appear to be suspicious.
According to NHRFR Chief Brion McEldowney, “The fire started in the vicinity of the crib by a closet.” Apparently, Maria, the 3-month-old, was sleeping in the crib and her brother, Jose, was asleep on the floor when the fire broke out. McEldowney also stated that the mother of the children, Anna Sanchez, “allegedly attempted to rescue the children,” but was driven out by thick, dense smoke and intense heat. According to published reports, the mother told responding police officers that she was in another room of the house when the blaze broke out. The children’s father was at work at the time of the fire.
McEldowney said that when fire crews from the NHRFR Ladder One and Engine Four arrived on the scene, police and some neighbors had already attempted to enter the dwelling but were driven back by smoke and heat.
Once the firefighters entered the dwelling, they found the two children in the upstairs bedroom. Both children were brought out, and according to McEldowney, the 3-month-old, Maria, “was in a lifeless state.” McEldowney credited Firefighter Desmond Boyle with resuscitating the baby.
“He made a search,” said McEldowney, “and I was told that he did mouth-to-mouth on the 3-month-old.” The 3-year-old boy was less badly injured than his sister, but is still in critical condition.
According to published reports, the 3-month-old child was burned over 50 percent of her body. Her brother wasn’t as badly burned but inhaled a lot of smoke and, along with his sister, was having extreme difficulty breathing.
Chief McEldowney credited five firefighters with orchestrating the rescue of the children: Captain Carlos Schlaffer, firefighters Desmond Boyle, Tom Sharples, Sean McLellan and Ray Colavito, all of Ladder One.
Said McEldowney, “This was really a combination effort between Ladder One and Engine Four. The guys did a great job.”
McEldowney also said that there was no smoke detector located in the bedroom that the children were sleeping in. However, there was apparently a smoke detector in the hallway of the dwelling. Said McEldowney, “This really points out the importance of having smoke detectors in every room. The mother might have had more of a chance if there was a smoke detector in the room as opposed to just being in the hallway.”
Union City Mayor Brian Stack, who has had to deal with his share of fires in his three years as mayor of Union City, was deeply saddened by yet another fire tragedy. Said Stack last week, “The kids are in really tough shape. I went to visit them in the hospital and I had to leave the room after only a couple of minutes. They’re really burned up bad.”
The mayor said that he has already started a fund to get clothes and shelter for the family, who, according to neighbors, are from El Salvador.