|
|
 |
 |
by ANTHONY M. DESTEFANO
Peter Askie and his wife Pauline were already awake early yesterday morning for their usual Bible reading and prayers when they noticed a commotion in their Flatbush apartment building.
Fully dressed, they were able to flee quickly when police came knocking on doors to warn residents of a fire.
The Askies and the five children in their apartment were among scores of residents at 1290 Ocean Ave. who fled from a pre-dawn, Thanksgiving Day fire on the third floor of their six-story building.
However three people, including a 16-year-old girl who jumped from the third story, were seriously injured and had to be taken to area hospitals, officials said. Police late yesterday afternoon had not released the names of the injured.
Four firefighters also received non-life-threatening burns and also had to be treated. One firefighter was admitted to the hospital, according to the Fire Department.
Fire officials said that an investigation is under way to determine the cause of the two-alarm blaze, which started just after 6 a.m. and left residents huddled on the street in the damp and cold for about four hours.
Askie, 46, a physics teacher at New Utrecht High School, said he and his wife, 39, led their three children and two of his brother-in-law's children quickly through the smoky hallway and outside.
Officials with the Red Cross said they had relocated two families, consisting of four adults and three children, to a local motel. A total of six apartments at the burned building are uninhabitable, according to the officials. In addition, a number of apartments had suffered water damage, residents said.
However, some tenants, including the Askies, were able to return to their apartments to continue preparations for Thanksgiving Day dinner.
Peter Askie said he felt thankful that besides a broken window, there was no damage to his apartment. "That is one of the things to thank God for," he said.
 |
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
