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A nasty blaze early yesterday ravaged the family of late Bronx power broker Ramon S. Velez, leaving his daughter-in-law dead and his son and two others in critical condition.
Enriqueta Velez, 55, was pronounced dead at Jacobi Medical Center, police sources said. Her husband, Ramon Velez Jr. — the son of the poverty-program baron — is in critical but stable condition along with the dead woman’s 75-year-old mother, Martha Morales, and 5-year-old granddaughter Reyna.
The blaze started just before 4 a.m. on the second floor of the Swinton Avenue home in Throggs Neck as the family slept, according to the FDNY.
“I woke up when I heard glass breaking in the back yard,” said next-door neighbor Mildred Velez, 82, who is no relation.
“I looked outside, and I saw all the firefighters breaking down the doors and windows, and there was so much fire and smoke.”
Firefighters pulled the family out of the burning house and performed CPR, but it was too late for Enriqueta. “They were working on the wife pretty hard, but I guess they couldn’t save her,” the neighbor Velez continued. “It’s just so sad.”
EMTs rushed the doomed woman along with her three relatives to Jacobi Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
The other three victims were listed in critical but stable condition after suffering severe smoke inhalation, authorities said.
Ramon Velez Jr.’s distraught sister was in shock as she stared at the charred remains of her brother’s house.
“The kids lost their mom, and they’re just devastated,” said Marisa Velez.
One firefighter suffered minor injuries. The cause of the fire has not yet been determined.
Meanwhile, the 911 dispatcher who took the initial call about the fire didn’t follow “normal protocol,” NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said in a statement last night.
The dispatcher waited about two minutes after hanging up to call the FDNY instead of immediately alerting a fire dispatcher, Browne said — and added that the NYPD is investigating.
Known by many as the “Fat Man,” Ramon S. Velez Sr. was an influential figure in helping Puerto Ricans earn their place in New York City politics. He died in 2008 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s.