Officials reported on Saturday that a candle ignited a fire that burned through a Bronx apartment. Three brothers, Elijah Artis, 5, Jeremiah Artis, 2, and Michael Turner, 4 months, all died. Apparently the candle was lit because the family lost electricity after failing to pay their bills. Con Ed spokesman Allan Drury said the residents owed “a significant amount…well into the thousands of dollars.”
A neighbor in the 165th street building said she heard the children’s mother, Tashika Turner, screaming. “She was yelling out the window,” Cynthia Woods told NY1. “She saw me and said ‘Fire!’ So I ran upstairs to the apartment and I kicked the door open. I tried to go in and get the kids, because I could hear the kids hollering. But the fire was like real heavy, so I fell, and I couldn’t get into the house to save the kids.”
100 firefighters were needed to battle the flames and after about 90 minutes, it was under control. FDNY spokesman Daniel Glover said the fire was “caused by a candle lit in the kitchen.”
