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Thread: 9-Year-Old Remi Miguel Gomez-Hernandez Killed When E-Scooter Battery Catches Fire Inside Queens Home

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    9-Year-Old Remi Miguel Gomez-Hernandez Killed When E-Scooter Battery Catches Fire Inside Queens Home

    https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2021/09...one-park-fire/

    NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) ' A 9-year-old boy was killed and nearly a dozen other people were hospitalized when a fire broke out early Wednesday morning inside a home in Queens.

    Police said the fire spread from the basement to the upper floors, trapping the victims inside.

    As CBS2's Christina Fan reported, the little boy's family had just moved into the basement unit Tuesday night. They were charging an e-scooter battery near the child's room when it caught on fire.

    Heartbreak, anger and confusion enveloped the block in Ozone Park as firefighters rescued families from the raging flames. Parents tightly hugged their children after learning 9-year-old Remi Miguel Gomez-Hernandez lost his life inside.

    Humberto Gilbert described the child's frantic calls for help in Spanish. Gilbert was helping the family move into their new home when an explosion rocked the apartment.

    'The mom said she could hear the child yelling, 'Mommy, help me! Mommy, help me!'' he told CBS2.

    Gilbert said the mother frantically tried to save him. She had to send him to sleep early that night and was in anguish realizing he was trapped inside his bedroom.

    'We tried to go back three times to look for the child, but we couldn't, because the fire, smoke and heat did not let us,' Gilbert said.

    He said he, the child's parents and another sibling escaped through a back door.

    Firefighters arrived and pulled 13 people out of the building on 102nd Road near Liberty Avenue, but they could not reach the little boy in time.

    Neighbors said if firefighters hadn't responded as quickly as they did, many of the people rescued would have died.

    'I pulled down the window and I said, 'Help me! Help me.' And the fireman, he know,' victim Wilman Melendez said.

    Fire marshals searched through the burnt rubble to trace what triggered the fire.

    FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro said the charging e-scooter battery caused the explosion the family heard.

    'These batteries have been known to overheat, have been known to explode. People go to sleep ' they take a long time to charge, so they'll charge them overnight, and as in this instance, the boy wakes up and there's no way out,' he said.

    The commissioner said the batteries are proving to be an extreme hazard throughout the city. Since last August, there have been 56 fires caused by these batteries, and this is the third fatal incident.

    'Frequently, where do people charge these batteries' Right near the front door and what does that do' It blocks in their exit,' Nigro said.

    Officials said the cellar that the 9-year-old died in was an illegal conversion, with no front door. It only had a back exit the boy could not get to.

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    Scoopski Potatoes Nic B's Avatar
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    I never understood using basements as bedrooms, but we don't have basements around here. Sounds like a death trap.


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    What do you care? Boston Babe 73's Avatar
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    This is so sad. In NYC they'll convert anything in to an "apartment" just to money grab. There's tons of illegal apartments because they rarely enforce the regulations there. And they charge up the ASSHOLE for them too. It's criminal.

    I can't imagine what that little boy went through. I just hope that the smoke got to him before the flames
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    Cousin Greg Angiebla's Avatar
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    The mom hearing the child yell "help me" broke my heart.

    "The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man" -Charles Darwin

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    Captain of Fuckery captainjillian's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Nic B View Post
    I never understood using basements as bedrooms, but we don't have basements around here. Sounds like a death trap.
    I stay in basement apartment Airbnbs in Colorado a few times a year and they all seem to have to have a window thing (an escape well?) that leads out and up in case of a fire.


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    What do you care? Boston Babe 73's Avatar
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    I lived in one in NH that was a total death trap, but I was desperate trying to get away from an abusive relationship. It only had one door that was right off the kitchen, one window right by the door and the furnace was in the room adjacent to where I was living. My friend built it out for me so I'd have a place to stay. My Mom insisted on a CO detector in addition to a smoke alarm because of the furnace. If a fire had started in that place, I would have been a goner for sure.
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    Junior Member readymade's Avatar
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    I feel for bad for this kid. His parents were probably just trying to provide a home for their family within their budget (which can be a challenge in this city) and never even thought about the fire hazard.

    I used to live in a basement apartment (also in Queens) because I was paying a boatload in student loans at the time and was desperately trying to save on rent so I could get out of that college debt. No fires happened (I would have been able to get out through the tiny windows in every room anyway - I actually had to break in through one once when I was locked out) but the entire place flooded and I lost a ton of important and irreplaceable personal possessions like my art, photos, yearbooks, etc, worth more to me than the value of the rent that I saved. (And it's not like it was cheap - I was paying $1250/month, and that was around 7-8 years ago, so it would cost more now.)

    The Republican candidate for mayor says he wants to crack down on these illegal basement apartments, but I don't think that's the answer - that'll force so many people out into homelessness or other types of creative but dangerous living situations. I don't know the solution, but taking away the few homes that people can afford isn't it.

    I live in a different apartment now (still in Queens) and an e-bike store recently moved into the first floor. Fingers crossed my building doesn't burn down. :-/

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