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by LUIS PEREZ
Memories of the fire that killed her parents hung over the room like a dark cloud yesterday, but all Alexandra Sandoval wanted to do was play.
Firefighters from Ladder 138 - who pulled 17 people, including Alexandra and her two sisters, out of 37-52 89th St. in Jackson Heights in December - were there.
Doctors who treated the girls for the last eight months looked on. And Reyna Gomez, the girls' aunt and legal guardian, was crying.
"I can't speak," said Gomez, who will soon be able to take two of the girls - Alexandra, 5, and Carolina, 3 - home. "I'm happy for my girls."
Nine months to the day since the Dec. 15 blaze that left their skin marred with horrible scars, Alexandra, Carolina and their sister Naomi Siguencia, 7, are weeks away from reclaiming their lives.
At a ceremony at St. Mary's Hospital for Children in Bayside, the girls hardly spoke, but Naomi often stuck out her tongue or winked playfully. Alexandra played peekaboo with the TV cameras. And Carolina launched like a missile and landed on her aunt's hips.
"It's incredible to see," said firefighter Victor Rosa, who is credited with carrying Naomi, her mother, Flor Pineda, 36, and a neighbor from the flames. Pineda died in the fire. Her companion, Alex Sandoval, 30, died later.
The firefighters made a pledge to continue raising money for the girls, in part to lessen the costs of expensive suits needed to heal their skin. So far they have raised $5,000.
"It has been an enormous struggle over the last six months," said Dr. Burton Grebin, president and chief executive of the hospital.
Almost certainly, he said, the girls will need psychological counseling for the rest of their lives. Physical therapy will go on at home.
Naomi, who suffered the worst burns and also suffered damage to her lungs, may remain in the hospital for some time, doctors said. But she is making good progress, said Dr. Edwin Simpser, who is supervising their care.
"One of the good things about being a child is that you still have room to grow," Simpser said.
Donations can be sent c/o Reyna Gomez, St. Mary's Hospital for Children, 29-01 216th St., Bayside, N.Y. 11360.
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