Hazel Martinez, 7, died early on Sunday morning when a fire broke out in her fourth-floor Bronx apartment. While the fire was initially described as “suspicious,” fire marshals later determined that it was caused by the cord on a newly installed electric stove, which was pinned to the wall and overheated. The flames spread to a five-gallon gasoline tank that had been in the home since Hurricane Sandy and melted a utility meter, allowing natural gas to feed the fire. Firefighters managed to pull Hazel and her three young siblings from the apartment, but she was pronounced dead at the hospital. Her 3-year-old sister Haley is in critical condition.
