GRAMERCY — The two officers injured after responding to a fire in a Brooklyn apartment building are fighting for their lives, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday.
Police officers Dennis Guerra, 38, and Rosa Rodriguez, 36, both suffered severe smoke inhalation responding to a 911 call regarding a "bored" teenager who set the mattress ablaze in his Coney Island apartment on Sunday.
Guerra was being treated at Montefiore Medical Center for severe smoke inhalation and Rodriguez, 36, was taken to Cornell Medical Center’s burn unit.
“Our hearts go out to the Guerra family and the Rodriguez family. These two officers remain in critical condition,” Mayor de Blasio said during a press conference at the New York City Police Academy Tuesday afternoon. “We know how tough these last few days have been for these families and they always have the support of Commissioner Bratton and I and of all New Yorkers.”
De Blasio added that he and Police Commissioner Bill Bratton would pay a visit to both the Guerra and Rodriguez families Tuesday evening.
Marcell Dockery, 16, admitted to lighting a mattress on fire in his building at 2007 Surf Ave. because he was “bored,” the New York Post reported.
“The tragedy here is that a 16-year-old young man would not have common sense enough to understand the potential implications of lighting a mattress, as has been alleged, on fire in his own building,” Bratton said during the press conference. “How can any of us make any sense out of that?”
Dockery was charged with assault, arson and reckless endangerment, according to court records.
He was held without bail and is due back in court on April 11.
