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by Eyewitness News' Sarah Wallace
(Queens Village-WABC, July 19, 2005)— Three generations of one family lost today after an early morning fire ripped through a home in Queens--taking the lives of a toddler--her mother--and her grandmother.
Eyewitness News Investigator Sarah Wallace is in Queens Village with the very tragic story.
Fire Marshalls say this appears to be an accidental fire at this time. It was likely caused by an electrical problem with an air conditioner on the
first floor.
Eyewitness News has learned that the blaze tore through the two-story home at 102-32 216th Street just after six o'clock in the morning. The firefighters reportedly had to battle back fierce flames to find the injured.
The 46-year-old grandmother, Mary Ann Shephard and mother-inlaw were pronounced dead at the scene. The two women along with the little girl were trapped on the second floor. The little girl later died of cardiac arrest.
A next door neighbor who said she babysat the toddler identified the two of the victims as 20 year old Melvina Shephard and her two-year-old Alissa.
Fire officials say when they arrived on the scene, one victim, a male had already jumped out of the window. The male in his late 20s was taken to the hospital with broken bones, but it is believed that he is going to
make it.
Firefighters say the fire took some 30 minutes to put out. The cause was not immediately known and fire marshalls will continue to investigate why the fire spread so quickly.
Eleven firefighters suffered injuries while fighting the fire in these hot weather conditions. Fortunately none of those injuries were life threatening.
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