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Bronx fire death toll rises to 13 one week after massive blaze, NYPD says

A man injured in the Bronx fire that killed 12 other people on Dec. 28, 2017, died of his injuries on Thursday, Jan. 4, 2018, the NYPD said.
A man injured in the Bronx fire that killed 12 other people on Dec. 28, 2017, died of his injuries on Thursday, Jan. 4, 2018, the NYPD said. Photo Credit: Charles Eckert

A 27-year-old man who was seriously injured in the Bronx fire that claimed the lives of a dozen other people last week has died, the NYPD said on Thursday.

The death of Holt Francis brings the total to 13 — the deadliest fire in the city in over 25 years, according to officials. Four of Francis’ family members also perished in the blaze, the NYPD said.

Police had released the names of the other 12 victims in the days immediately following the fire, which broke out at 2357 Prospect Ave., near the Bronx Zoo in Belmont, on Dec. 28.

Authorities later said the blaze was sparked by a 3-year-old boy playing with the stove in his first-floor apartment.

The boy’s mother, alerted to the flames, quickly got everyone out of the apartment but failed to close the door behind her, according to FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro. The flames then spread up the five-story apartment building, “like a chimney,” he said a day after the fire.

The victims, which include four children, range in age from 7 months old to 63 years old, according to police.