Father Of 3 Children Killed In Fire Caused By Menorah Doesn’t Know They’re Dead

Image by Nikki Casey

By Ari Feldman December 20, 2017

The father of three young children killed in a fire likely caused by a menorah does not yet know that they’re dead, the New York Post reported.

Yosef Azan, 45, is in critical condition after rushing into his burning house to try and save his children. Firefighters found the bodies of Henrietta, 3, Moshe, 11, Yitzchak, 7, and their mother Aliza, 39, on the second floor. Three other Azan children remain in critical condition.

But doctors are keeping Yosef in a medically-induced coma so that he misses the worst of the pain caused by the severe burns he suffered in the blaze. He has not been told about the deaths of his children or his wife.

The bodies were flown to Israel for burial Tuesday, and a funeral is expected Wednesday.

The fire began around 2 A.M. Monday morning. Fire marshals say it was caused by an unattended oil menorah on the first floor. Flames quickly consumed the three story house. Five firefighters were injured trying to rescue the Azan family.

Outside the hospital where Yosef Azan lies unconscious, his brother Amir Azan wept.

“We hope that everything is going to be OK,” he said. “I’m sorry because I’m not doing well.”

Contact Ari Feldman at [email protected] or on Twitter @aefeldman

Ari Feldman is a staff writer at the Forward. He covers Jewish religious organizations, synagogue life, anti-Semitism and the Orthodox world. If you have any tips, you can email him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @aefeldman.

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