Firefighters walk near the scene of a fire in Midwood, Brooklyn on March 21, 2015. (Photo by Kena Betancur/Getty Images)
Seven siblings, ranging from ages 5 to 15, died in a house fire in Midwood, Brooklyn, just after midnight on Saturday. The mother, Gayle Sassoon, 45, and her 14-year-old daughter Tzipara survived by jumping out the second-floor window. “This is the largest tragedy by fire that this city has had in seven years,” said Daniel A. Nigro, the fire commissioner, in a press conference Saturday morning. According to Nigro, the fire started because of a malfunctioning hot plate that was kept on to keep food warm for the Sabbath. Investigators also report that while there was a smoke detector in the basement, there were none on the first or second floors. Sassoon and her daughter are currently in critical condition.
