A fire in a Bronx apartment building that killed 12 people including four children on Thursday night was caused by a child playing with a stove, authorities said, as New Yorkers absorbed horrific details from the city’s worst single loss of life from a fire since the 9/11 attacks. A stairwell acted like a chimney, carrying the flames through the entire five-storey building within minutes and blocking the main escape route. “I don’t know what to do and I don’t know how to feel,” said Stewart-Francis’ mother, Ambrozia Stewart. New York mayor Bill De Blasio told CNN that first responders saved at least 12 lives. Excluding the 9/11 attacks, it was the worst fire in New York City since 87 people were killed at a social club in the Bronx in 1990.

Source: The Guardian December 29, 2017 16:09 UTC