YWN [Aneinu] HORRIFIC TRAGEDY STRIKES FLATBUSH: SEVEN CHILDREN PERISH IN SHABBOS FIRE

An unfathomable and absolutely horrific tragedy struck the Flatbush Jewish community over Shabbos, when seven children in one family were R”L killed in a fire. Fire officials say that the fire tore through their Brooklyn home after they had gone to bed, a tragedy that authorities believe was caused by a malfunctioning hot plate left on for Shabbos. Ads By Artscroll:Click Here! The blaze took the lives of three girls and four boys – ages 5 to 16 – and left their mother and another child in critical condition. Fire officials said the flames would have prevented the mother, who escaped out a window, from trying to rescue her children. The mother and daughter and in need Rachmei Shomayim and their names for Tehillim are Tziporah bas Avigayil, and Avigayil bas Tziporah. “This is an unbelievable tragedy,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said after touring the charred residence. “Every New Yorker is feeling this pain right now.” Fire investigators believe a hot plate left on a kitchen counter ignited the flames that raced up the stairs, trapping the children in their second-floor rear bedrooms, Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said. Nigro called it the city’s worst fatal fire in recent memory. “It’s a tragedy for this family, it’s a tragedy for this community, it’s a tragedy for the city,” he said. Police officials identified the victims as members of the Sassoon family. Three of the children were girls: Eliane, 16, Rivkah, 11 and Sara, 6. Four were boys: David, 12, Yeshua, 10, Moshe, 8 and Yaakob, 5.