BROOKLYN — The injured grandmother of the 1-year-old boy killed when a massive fire engulfed her apartment in Brownsville’s Howard Houses Wednesday has succumbed to her injuries, officials said Friday.
Alexandra Melo, the grandma of little Ivan Paez, died of her injuries sustained when the blaze tore through her 13th-floor apartment at 260 Mother Gaston Blvd., near East New York Avenue, about 8:35 a.m. Wednesday, police and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams said.
Melo, 40, died Friday. Ivan died at Brookdale Hospital Wednesday, officials said.
I'm sad to report that Alexandra Melo of @NYCHA's Howard Houses, grandmother of Ivan Paez, has also lost her life from Wednesday's fire.
— Eric Adams (@BPEricAdams) December 16, 2016
The fire was caused by faulty electrical wiring in the kitchen, the FDNY said.
Five other people suffered smoke inhalation and were taken to area hospitals, officials said.
Witness Quannie Mitchell, 26, said she saw Paez being rushed out of the building by a firefighter.
“He had the baby in his arms and was running as fast as he could down the block,” Mitchell told DNAinfo New York. “The baby looked burned. He wasn’t moving at all. They said he was unconscious.”
Adams is spearheading an effort to bring a burn unit to Brooklyn. Brooklyn and Queens are the only boroughs that currently don’t have one.
