Michael Winter, USA TODAY March 22, 2015
Funeral services for the four boys and three girls of the Sassoon family, ages 5 to 16, are to be held Sunday afternoon at a Brooklyn chapel that serves their religious community.
The bodies will then be flown to Israel and buried in Jerusalem at 2 p.m. Monday, the Israeli network Arutz Sheva
reported. The family had lived there for many years before moving to the Midwood neighborhood of Brooklyn two years ago. A friend said the family had planned to return to Israel to live.
It was the city's deadliest fire since 2007.
Fire officials believe the blaze was started by a malfunctioning hot plate being used to keep food warm during the 25-hour Sabbath, when religious restrictions forbid cooking. The house had only one smoke detector, in the basement.
"I call this not a tragedy but an absolute disaster," said state Assemblyman Dov Hikind, who represents the district. "Everyone's in utter shock."
He urged the Orthodox community to make sure that hot plates were working properly and that smoke detectors were installed properly and functioning.
Authorities identified the Sassoon family victims as girls Eliane, 16; Rivkah, 11; and Sara, 6; and boys David, 12; Yeshua, 10; Moshe, 8; and Yaakob, 5. All were found in upstairs bedrooms of the two-story, brick-and-wood, single-family home.
Their 45-year-old mother, Gayle, a Brooklyn native, and 14-year-old sister, Tzipara, remained in critical condition Sunday at area hospitals. They survived by jumping from a second-story window. Gayle Sassoon reportedly was burned over 45% of her body, and Tzipara suffered broken bones and smoke inhalation.
Seven children were killed in a house fire in Brooklyn early Saturday morning. Video provided by Newsy Newslook
"I heard a child yelling, 'Mommy! Mommy, help me!' " neighbor Andrew Rosenblatt told reporters. "I looked out the back window, and I saw flames, smoke. ... The smoke and the flames were horrendous."
Other neighbors said Gayle Sassoon was heard yelling, "My kids are in there! My kids are in there! Get them out! Get them out!"
Firefighters arrived about four minutes after the blaze was reported at 12:23 a.m. Saturday, but it was too late to save any of the children trapped inside.
"They're some of the nicest, most well-behaved kids," neighbor Isaac Apton told the New York Times. "A great family."
Another neighbor tearfully described them as "beautiful little children."
"It's unbelievable. It doesn't seem possible," Rose Insel, told the Associated Press, recalling how she had given the children lollipops after they shoveled her walk unprompted.
Their father, Gabi, was at a religious conference in Manhattan at the time and did not learn of the tragedy for several hours because of the Orthodox prohibition on electronic communications. He was found praying at a synagogue Saturday morning, and fell to his knees in tears when given the news, the New York Daily News reported.
"What will happen to us now? Where will I go?" he told Arutz Sheva on Sunday.
The Times said he met his wife when she moved to Israel after having divorced her high school sweetheart. They had eight children, and lived in the Har Nof neighborhood of Jerusalem for many years before moving to Brooklyn to be closer to her family.
They ultimately intended to return to Israel, a friend of the father said.
"You can't explain it, it's unbelievable," Alon Deri told the Israeli news site Walla! News. "I hope we wake up from this bitter dream. It's like the story of Hannah who dedicated her seven sons."
Source: USA Today
