The FDNY says the Monday afternoon fire that claimed the lives of a man and two of his daughters was started by a five-year-old child playing with a lighter. A mattress caught fire in the Bushwick two-family home on Putnam Avenue—according to the NY Times, "Some of the building’s residents tried to put the fire out before calling 911 by dragging the burning mattress to a lower floor."
A FDNY source told the Daily News, "They tried to smother the fire. Then they made an attempt to remove the burning mattress. They dragged it down the steps to the third floor," but instead the fire spread. It's also believed the delay in calling 911 may have contributed to the deaths.
Jeffrey Larmond, 62, and daughter Dijahna, 14, were found dead on the fourth floor. Three-year-old Ja'mayah Larmond was rescued but later died at the hospital; a neighbor said, "I saw a firefighter coming out of the flames cradling a little girl's body. She looked badly burned. It was horrifying.
Larmond's wife, Theresa Wilson, had been working at her party-planning store on DeKalb Avenue when the fire occurred. Yesterday, she was grateful when a Department of Buildings official was able to retrieve an urn from the damaged house; the urn contained ashes from her daughter who died of leukemia a few years ago. The family, which includes six other children, had apparently moved to the Bushwick home because their previous home was damaged by an electrical fire.
