Fires usually happen with more frequency in the winter, due to the usage of space heaters and candles. Overloaded circuits during the holidays and an increase of indoor cooking are also sometimes causes. Today we also have lithium-ion batteries added into the mix. This season, Ridgewood was rocked by 3 fires, which thankfully did not result in any deaths, but scores of people lost their homes. In Maspeth, there was a fire at a house behind CVS on Grand Avenue. Thankfully no one hurt there, either. But in
Elmhurst, there was an unspeakable tragedy. Two people lost their lives in a fire on Dongan Avenue and three were taken to hospitals in critical condition. The deceased victims were occupants of an illegal basement apartment: A new mother and her 17-day-old baby. Days later, another Elmhurst fire on 78 Street claimed the life of an 83-year-old man after firefighting efforts were hindered by a non-functional hydrant and a parked vehicle blocking a second hydrant. People tend to shrug off illegal conversions and hydrant blocking, but stopping both practices saves lives. We need an investigation into non-functional hydrants because this has been a long-time unresolved problem.