Father Of 3 Children Killed In Fire Caused By Menorah Doesn’t Know They’re Dead
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
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we need 500 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Our Goal: 500 gifts during our Passover Pledge Drive!