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by Eyewitness News' Lisa Colagrossi
A Passover Celebration turns tragic when three boys lose their lives in a fire. It's a fire that was started by a stove left on for religious reasons.
Eyewitness News reporter Lisa Colagrossi has more on this tragic story.
The outpouring of grief delayed the funeral procession for two hours last night. Hundreds gathered to pay their final respects for the three boys who died in yesterday's fire.
The Victims were 16-year-old Shyia Matyas, his 13 year-old brother Yidal, and their cousin Israel Falkowitz who was just seven.
Neighbor: "I smelled smoke and I heard screams, very loud screams and then a crash. I looked out my window but I couldn't see anything because all of the smoke was coming into my apartment."
One tenant said she heard no alarms. Firefighters say a smoke detector in the apartment had no batteries.
Investigators say the fire was sparked by an oven left on the entire weekend due to the Sabbath and Passover Holiday. Orthodox Jewish tradition bars performing mechanical functions like turning off the stove and burners.
Some question the firefighters response time.
Neighbor:"They definitely took a long time to come."
The average response time in the city is four minutes and 18 seconds. The fire department arrived at this fire in just three minutes and 50 seconds. Still, too late for the three boys.
Lt. Matthew Komorowski, FDNY: "All of the victims were unconscious at the time. So, after we got in, we made sure we got them out and continued our search for other victims."
Now the fire department will be out beginning at two o'clock today, handing out fire safety pamphlets to the neighborhood trying to stress the dangers of leaving stoves during religious celebrations.
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