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Read the press release here.

Borough Park Explosion Fund Seeks Donations

By Leslie Albrecht | October 14, 2015 11:06am
 The Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City is collecting money for people affected by the explosion.
How to Help Victims of Explosion That Killed Park Slope Salon Owner
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PARK SLOPE — Families affected by the recent building explosion in Borough Park that killed two people — including a South Slope business owner — will soon get a helping hand through a donation drive.

The Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City launched a relief fund recently to help pay for funeral expenses, medical bills, school supplies, clothes and other necessities for victims of the Oct. 3 explosion at 4206 13th Ave., near 42nd Street.

The devastating blast killed Ligia Puello, 64, and Francisca Figueroa, 47, a mother of three who owned the South Slope salon Franchezka Unisex on Fifth Avenue and 12th Street. The explosion injured 13 people and forced 49 residents to leave five neighboring buildings, officials said.

Figueroa may have sparked the explosion while trying to commit suicide using chemicals from her salon, sources told DNAinfo New York.

A homemade memorial for Figueroa appeared outside her salon shortly after news of her death reached neighbors.

"She was a beautiful person, a very caring person," Sara Diaz, godmother to Figueroa's daughter, Lecha Aceveda, told DNAinfo New York shortly after the blast.

Diaz said that Figueroa, who also went by the first name "Franchezka," had been struggling financially and had been taken to housing court by her landlord. Figueroa had been working hard to support her beauty salon, according to Diaz's husband, Frank Diaz.

"She was always up and about working long hours seven days a week," he said.

Click here to donate to the Borough Park Relief Fund.