The three-alarm Brooklyn fire that claimed the lives of two men in a three-story building on Covert Street was apparently started by a hot plate. Fire officials said it seemed that a hot plate was used near a bed; NBC New York reports, "Instead of calling 911 when the fire was sparked around 9:15 p.m. Friday, the occupant using the hot plate tried to smother the fire with bedding and sheets -- further spreading the flames."
The building, a three-story structure, was also an illegal single-room occupancy which had been illegally subdivided. A neighbor told the Post, "The walls weren't fixed. There was no fire escape. I've been in there and it was nasty. There was no facility to wash. There was nowhere to cook."
Frank Edwards, 56, was found dead on the top floor while Gregory Atkinson, 44, died after jumping from the window and falling in the courtyard. A fellow resident told the Daily News, "I grabbed a ladder and held it up to the building but it was too short - so he jumped. It was terrible. Jiggs jumped to get away from the flames."
The building, which has had Buildings Department complaints, is owned by Betty Rogers, who lives in North Carolina. One of the building's resident, Willie Bell, said that he was paid to act as a caretaker and, according to the NY Times, "About three years ago, Mr. Bell said, he invited several other men to move in with him but did not know how many people, in total, were living there at the time of the fire."
