Dec 17, 2007 7:04 pm US/Eastern
S.I. House Fire Kills 9-Year-Old Boy
Mysterious Fire Injures 3 Firefighters, 3 Neighbors
STATEN ISLAND (CBS) ―
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The cause of the fatal blaze is under investigation.
CBS
It was a roaring, late-night fire with heavy smoke, forcing Thomas Monahan, his wife Maria and their 8-year-old daughter out of their house on Princewood Avenue in Staten Island. But their 9-year-old son, Thomas Junior, didn't make it out in time.
Once outside, the father tried his best to save his son, trying to get into his window.
Police and fire officials say the boy, Thomas Monahan Jr., was eventually rescued from the second floor of the burning home on Princewood Avenue and taken to Staten Island University Hospital.
Monahan reportedly used a ladder and broke his son's bedroom window with a chair, but couldn't get in. When firefighters arrived, the flames, heaviest near the front door and staircase, caused the stairs to collapse under the weight of a fireman.
"He was trapped. His back-up man pulled him out," said Staten Island Chief Commander Thomas Haring.
Another fireman was able to penetrate the wall of flames thru a second floor window, but the young boy was not in his own room, according to Haring.
"He then proceeded past the fire and found the child in the front bedroom."
Thomas Jr., who attended PS 36, was pronounced dead some two hours later. Family and friends were gathered at a relative's home next door on Monday.
"You can only imagine. Very difficult," said family friend, John Drury.
Neighbor Nora Karvy, a school principal, is having an especially hard time with the child's death.
"Never mind explaining it to children. We can't understand it ourselves. You can't describe the pain. It's just the ultimate."
Three firefighters and three neighbors suffered minor injuries in the attempted rescue. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
As other families in the neighborhood plan for Christmas, the Monahans will be planning the burial of their son, 9-year-old Thomas Jr.
Fire officials say the home was equipped with smoke detectors and emergency ladders, but it's not yet known if the smoke detectors were working.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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