A pregnant mother and her two-year-old son perished in an early-morning fire in their St. Albans home, and firefighters were delayed to the scene because they were forced to find the location of the blaze.
According to the FDNY, a call came in at 4:39 a.m. on Tuesday, July 13 – the dispatcher was given an intersection, not an address – and the 12 responding units found the fire, at 179-56 Anderson Road, by 4:56 a.m.
The private, two-story dwelling was filled with smoke by the time firefighters got the inferno under control by 5:12 a.m.
Linda Anderson, 23, six months pregnant, had died before firefighters arrived, and her son Ayden Hayes, 2, was in cardiac arrest. He later died at Queens Hospital Center.
“I saw them in the neighborhood from time to time, they never bothered anybody,” said Wilson Eason, a neighbor.
Reports say that Anderson’s ex-boyfriend was taken into custody, but has not been charged. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
“They were quiet, she was a young girl,” said neighbor Mike Stewart.
It was also reported that the home’s smoke detectors were not working.
“It’s devastating, there have been so many fires lately, residents need to know if their fire alarms work…I am very concerned and will do all I can do to help the community," said Senator Shirley Huntley.
