Five-year-old twins were killed and four of their siblings hurt, including a pair critically, when they became trapped as a blaze tore through their Staten Island home just two days before Christmas, authorities said Friday.
The kids’ oldest sibling wept — and their mother collapsed — after arriving at the semi-attached home on Van Duzer Street near Vanderbilt Avenue in Fox Hills during the inferno, which broke out around 10:20 a.m., according to the NYPD and FDNY.
“We had presents in the basement,” said their crying eldest brother, Xavier Vanable, 26, who was at work when a cousin frantically called to tell him to get home.
His twin siblings — a 5-year-old girl and boy — died in the blaze. The little girl was pronounced dead at the scene, and her twin was rushed to Staten Island University Hospital North, where he succumbed to his injuries, police said.
“These children were joyful at the heart, and they always played around,” Vanable said. “They loved school. I always wanted them to be the best they can be.”
Vanable said his mother, who also was out of the house at the time of the fire, collapsed when she returned home.
Five-year-old twin siblings died in the fire. Courtesy/ Staten Island Advance/Maura GrunlundFDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh said the mother was “in the hospital in shock but is in stable condition.
“This is an incredible tragedy,” Kavanagh told reporters at a briefing Friday.
“Upon arrival, there was heavy fire and reports of children trapped on the second floor,” he said.
FDNY Chief of Department Jack Hodgens said, “The entire second floor was engulfed in flames.”
The fire broke out at the semi-attached home on Van Duzer Street. Courtesy/ Staten Island Advance/SILive
The fire started around 10:20 a.m., authorities said. Courtesy/ Staten Island Advance/SILiveAll the victims, who were siblings, were found unconscious after the fire was extinguished, Hodgens said.
The injured included two more young male siblings hospitalized in critical condition, Kavanagh said. Two older siblings, a 12-year-old girl and 14-year-old boy, were stable with minor injuries.
One firefighter was also being treated for minor injuries, Kavanagh said.
A dozen FDNY units responded to the scene just over 3 minutes after they received the call.
“We had presents in the basement,” eldest brother, Xavier Vanable said. Steven Vago/NY Post“It’s an incredible tragedy. We feel it as New Yorkers,” Kavanagh said. “Our members, of course, are parents themselves. This is right before Christmas.”
Teresa Forster, a neighbor, said, “Anytime is horrible, but right before Christmas …
“Christmas will be ruined for the rest of their lives. You don’t wish that on anybody.”
Video from the scene shows clouds of smoke rising from the home and people yelling, “Go, go!” as FDNY trucks begin arriving with their sirens blaring.
The fire was placed under control about an hour later.
Seventeen-year-old Tyquan Riquelmy, who lives next door, told The Post that he and his mother were returning from a shopping trip as the firefighters arrived.
“I came back, and everything was in flames. Everyone was trying to get to the children inside,” he said while holding clothes and a box containing a lizard.
In addition to the deaths of the twin children, four other siblings were hurt, officials said. Citizen“I saw them pull out some of the children,” he said.
“It was just so much. We were trying to help, but it was really sad and tragic to see.”
Riquelmy’s mother added, “They was good kids.
“My kids played with them. It’s sad. It’s sad.”
The cause of the blaze is under investigation, officials said.
