Gair, Gair, Conason, Rubinowitz, Bloom, Hershenhorn, Steigman & Mackauf is a New York Plaintiff's personal injury law firm specializing in automobile accidents, construction accidents, medical malpractice, products liability, police misconduct and all types of New York personal injury litigation.

Articles Posted in Explosion and Fire Accidents

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Ambrealla.jpg40 year old Gordon Matthew Ambrella died from his injuries after he became trapped in a fire in an apartment on the 19th floor of a Brooklyn high rise. The firefighter went into the apartment to look for victims but he never came back. His colleagues found him unconscious on the floor with multiple injuries. He was rushed to the hospital but he couldn’t be saved. The funeral is planned for Thursday.

Photo: Facebook Read more on New York CBS website

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Jeffrey%20Bloom.jpgOur partner New York personal injury attorney Jeffrey Bloom is representing Alonzo Yanes a student at the New York Beacon School who was severely injured, when according to a report issued by the Education Department’s Special Commissioner of Investigation, his chemistry teacher improperly poured explosive methanol onto a burning chemistry experiment.

Alonzo suffered second and third degree burns to his face, neck and torso. According to the report, the school custodian found him with a melted left ear.

“It’s very clear from the report that they conducted an experiment that they had been warned by the government was dangerous,” our partner Jeffrey Bloom told the Post. “As a result, a gifted, talented young man has scars, physical and mental, that are going to be with him forever”.

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16 year old Oscar Hernandez suffered catastrophic personal injury as the result of the gas explosion accident that happened last March in Harlem, New York. 3 months later he is still in the hospital recovering from severe burns, broken bones and internal injuries. Oscar was in the coma for 11 days and has no recollection of the gas explosion. He woke up in the hospital to hear that his mom and sister had passed. Today the New York Daily News wrote a touching article about the difficulty endured by Oscar Hernandez and his family to overcome this tragedy. Read the article here

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A preliminary investigation into the ambulance delay related to a deadly fire in Queens (see previous blog) lead to the suspension of 3 FDNY dispatchers and their supervisor.
Read more in New York CBS

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The Fire Department of New York is investigating why it took 21 minutes for an ambulance to get to a fire that broke out in a home in Far Rockaway, Queens last Sunday. The calls arrived in the 911 system at 11:51 am and at 11:56 am the firefighters arrived at the location of the blaze. The firefighters pulled two 4 year old children, Jai’Launi Tinglin and Ayina Tinglin (picture), from the fire and tried to resuscitate them but they were unsuccessful. They were asking: Where is EMS? Where is EMS?

According to the NY Daily News, the ambulance was only dispatched to the fire at 12:05 am, 14 minutes after the 911 call and arrived at the scene at 12:12 am, 21 minutes after the first call to 911.

It is not the first time that glitches happen with New York 911. In June last year, Ariel Russo was struck and killed by a reckless driver on the Upper West Side and glitches with 911 led to a 4 minute delay in the arrival of the ambulance. The Russo family is suing the city for negligence.

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A total of 13 people suffered personal injury in a fire in Brooklyn, NYC. Among the victims a man who was trying to escape the blaze by using a bed sheet out of his window and plunged several stories. He was critically injured. His wife who was also in the apartment was saved by the firefighters.

A cellphone video posted to Instagram captured the man falling from his apartment window as firefighters rushed to save him. See below

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The catastrophic explosion that happened in New York yesterday may have been caused by negligence and may have been prevented. Mayor de Blasio said the first warning came 17 minutes before the explosions but Harlem residents say that the mayor’s statement is inaccurate. According to them a strong gas odor had been persisting for months and even though there were numerous complaints little had been done about it. Since last fall residents have been calling 311 to complain about the gas odor. Around Christmas time a FDNY officer visited the premises and reassured tenants that everything was fine… Obviously we know today it wasn’t.

Read more in the New York Daily News

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Collapsed%20building.pngAfter a massive explosion led to the collapse of two buildings in East Harlem, NYC, the rescue team worked all night and found several more dead bodies raising the death toll to seven. More than 60 people suffered personal injury and were treated in nearby hospitals. A 15 year old boy as well as another victim are in critical condition. Residents of adjacent buildings were evacuated and were not able to return home yesterday night.

A giant sinkhole developed in front of the site limiting the use of heavy machinery by the rescuers. According to the investigators the sinkhole was caused by a water main break that may also have played a role in rupturing a gas line. But so far investigators were unable to determine whether the water main broke before or after the explosion.

Click on picture to see what was inside of the two collapsed buildings

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An explosion in New York injured dozens of people and killed at least three while more than eight are still missing. The explosion was so severe that it sent people flying out the windows. 250 firefighters had to be called to the rescue to fight the blaze that consumed the two buildings that contained 15 apartments, a church and a piano store.

Read more in the New York Daily News

 

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Last year, our partner Jeffrey Bloom, settled a similar personal injury case for $3,450,000 after a 16 year old boy suffered second and third degree burns when an explosion occurred during a science experiment at his high school. Read more about it here