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1 dead, 3 injured in Brooklyn apartment fire

By and
Updated  October 16, 2024 5:31pm EDT
Crime and Public Safety
FOX 5 NY

1 dead, 3 hurt in Brooklyn apartment building fire

An uncertified lithium-ion battery is to blame for the deadly apartment fire in Brooklyn. FOX 5 NY's Arthur Chi'en went inside the apartment building to look at the damage done.

BROOKLYN - One person is dead, and three people are injured, after a lithium-ion battery fire broke out in an apartment building in Brooklyn overnight, according to the FDNY.

The flames were reported at 31-10 Brighton 3rd Street in Brighton Beach shortly after 3:30 a.m.

Firefighters arrived to find a fire burning on the second floor of the building. Sixty Fire and EMS personnel responded. 

Fire officials said five occupants were inside the building when the fire started and two of the people tried to stay and fight it. One of the occupants was Larisa Yaneva's daughter. 

The people trying to fight it were the two civilians who were injured, officials said. 

Yaneva's daughter is suffering from fourth degree burns on her back and legs. Yaneva lives on the same floor as her daughter and grandchildren, who also live with her ex-husband.

Fire marshals said Yaneva's 69-year-old ex-husband's electric sit-down scooter caused the fire. It contained an uncertified lithium-ion battery. Her ex-husband died in the fire.

"The occupants were home at the time of the fire. They heard the battery fail. They attempted to extinguish that fire, clearly were unable to extinguish the fire. The device was blocking the egress of the person that succumbed from their injuries," Chief Fire Marshall Daniel Flynn said. 

Damage to apartment 2A shows how bad conditions got inside, including the toddler's room:

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After the parents have been hospitalized, the toddlers, ages 2 and 9, are staying with Yaneva.

Fire officials re-emphasized at a press conference the importance of not having these devices indoors and especially not by a doorway.

"That's a message we've been pushing out from the start. Do not put these between you and the front door," Flynn said.

The fire was placed under control at 4:30 a.m. 

Fire officials told FOX 5 that there have been about 219 fires as of this Monday in New York City that are related to lithium-ion batteries. However, fatalities are down to four fatalities so far at this point last year.