Newsday

The 12:05 a.m. blaze on East 19th Street started on the top floor of the three-story building and quickly spread. Fire department officials said faulty wiring may be to blame. More than 100 firefighters from 25 units battled the blaze, bringing it under control in just over an hour.

Killed were Bergino Dodard, 12, also known as Benjie; his aunt, Chlismene Vixama, 49; and his grandmother, Maria Vixama, 76. All three died of smoke inhalation, according to the medical examiner's office.

Seven people were injured in the blaze, including four firefighters and two residents who suffered minor injuries. Benjie's cousin, Marc Tyson Vixama, 15, who was in a second-floor apartment, suffered burns on his hands.

The teen was in stable condition yesterday at Jacobi Medical Center, authorities said. His father, also named Marc Vixama, escaped uninjured.

A police source said Benjie, asleep on the third floor when the fire broke out, ran to a lower floor for help, then ran back upstairs to get his grandmother, with whom he was especially close.

The aunt and grandmother died in their beds, relatives said, and Benjie wound up on the balcony.

"Benjie was screaming for help," said his cousin, Markinson Vixama, 18, who also lives in the home, but wasn't there when the fire started. "Everybody heard him, but no one could go up the stairs. There was too much fire."

Firefighters eventually reached Benjie, but efforts to revive him were unsuccessful.

Benjie's parents, according to a police source, are unpaid auxiliary police officers assigned to the 70th Precinct, which covers Flatbush. His mother, Nanouse Dodard, 50, was returning home from The Ritz-Carlton, where she also works, at the time of the blaze.

Benjie's father, Berne, was among at least a dozen people who escaped on their own or with the help of firefighters.

Friends and relatives viewed the damage yesterday, trying to assess the loss on three generations of the extended family, most natives of Haiti.

"The human tragedy we saw was unbelievable," said neighbor Nicole Francis.

She and others suggested the house was overcrowded, a condition that may have contributed to an electrical overload. Four years ago, Francis said, an electrical fire sent everyone running for their lives.

"The house almost burned down," she said. "They had to redo it."

Another of Benjie's aunts, Julienne Vixama, 54, said she couldn't really express her feelings.

"I don't know how to feel, to tell you the truth," she said. "I still don't know how to deal with this. Benjie, he was so young. Such a nice boy."

Maria Alvarez contributed to this story.