The Bronx fire that killed three small children and a young dad last weekend was accidentally sparked by a “damaged power strip,” according to the FDNY.
The Sunday morning blaze ravaged the Quimby Avenue home in Unionport, claiming the lives of Ahmed Saleh, 22, his 10-month-old daughter, Barah Saleh, and his younger brothers Mohamed Waleed Ahmed, 12, and Kalheed Waleed Ben Saleh, 10.
The FDNY wrote in a Thursday night tweet that the fire was “accidental, caused by a damaged power strip in the home.”
Flames rip through 2165 Quimby Ave. in Unionport early Sunday.
The FDNY said Friday that several items were plugged into the power strip and in use at the time. The insulation of the cord was also damaged, the department said.
The first flames quickly spread to nearby furniture, according to fire officials.
Law enforcement sources previously told The Post that the fire appeared to be caused by faulty electrical wiring, with investigators finding a melted computer still plugged into the wall of the room where the blaze started.
Ten-month-old Barah Saleh was the youngest victim of the deadly fire at 2165 Quimby Ave. in the Bronx.
There were working smoke detectors in the home, the FDNY said.
City building records show no prior violations at the building, although firefighters found an illegal basement apartment while battling the blaze. The blaze did not originate there, according to sources.
Neighbor Merlyn Persaue, 60, told The Post through tears Sunday that the children desperately banged on the windows of the home as the fire raged.
“They were screaming, the children, ‘Hey Allah! Hey Allah!’ which means, ‘Help me, God! Help me, God,’ ” Persuae said. “I see the hands in the windows, and then the flames wash up on the windows, and then there was no more sound.”
The three brothers killed in the Bronx fire are shown with their dad, Saleh Waleed (left). Facebook/Saleh WaleedThe brothers’ mother and her youngest boy, her only surviving child, managed to escape with the help of a neighbor, Imlaque Chowhury, 30.
“[The] woman and little boy were banging on my window,” Chowhury recalled Sunday. “They were screaming, they were crying, and the black smoke was coming out behind them.
“I opened the window, and I grabbed them both and pull them inside. What else could I do? One of those kids that plays with my niece. I looked outside, and I saw the man running around. I thought that everyone had gotten out. I could have gone down, I could have helped. I could have done more. But I didn’t know. I thought everyone had gotten out.”
