A cancer stricken boy and his toddler sister are fighting for their lives after an early morning fire ripped through their Brooklyn apartment, authorities and sources said.
Little 4-year-old Rolando Rich, who is battling leukemia, and sister Dasani Rich, 3, were overpowered in the 2:45 a.m. blaze that broke out while their mom was running to the store, sources said. The kids are in critical condition with burns and smoke inhalation at Brookdale Hospital, where Rolando is on life support, according to sources and neighbors.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Oldest brother Darnell Smith, 15, was able to get his 11-year-old brother, Kamari Daniels, out of dangers but couldn’t reach his youngest siblings, who were rescued from the second floor apartment by firefighters.
Veteran firefighters Christopher Eysser and Anthony Arroyo brought the younger children to safety, with Eysser handing Rolando to Arroyo through the window.
“There was zero visibility. You couldn’t see your hands in front of your face. The children were unconscious, lying on the floor, ” said Eysser, 41, of Ladder Co. 120. “When you pick up a child [who is] unconscious, it hits home.”
Arroyo, 39, of Ladder Co. 103, the father of an infant girl, said he immediately started CPR on Rolando.
“It looked like the girl was starting to breathe but the boy – blank stare. Lifeless,” he said.
“I came outside and they were trying to revive the kids,” neighbor Johnny Irizarry, 39, said. “They were working on the kids so long I thought they were gone.”
A witness said the children’s mother was distraught as she watched rescuers try to save her young children.
“I was sleeping and I heard the mom screaming, ‘Fire! Fire! My kids are in the house,’” the woman said.