A second person has died after a fire at a Brooklyn housing complex earlier this week, police said.
Alexandra Melo succumbed to her injuries on Friday, Borough President Eric Adams said on Twitter. Melo, 40, was the grandmother of Ivan Baez, 1, who was rescued from the fire, but pronounced dead Wednesday at Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center.
The fire broke out around 8:35 a.m. Wednesday, on the 13th floor of 260 Mother Gaston Blvd. in Brownsville, police said.
Five other people, including an 8-year-old boy and 17-year-old girl, were treated for smoke inhalation and minor injuries, police said.
On Friday, Adams renewed his call for Brooklyn to set up its own burn center, and promised $4 million in capital funding for the project. “It’s wrong, when seconds count, to send patients elsewhere,” he said on Twitter.
Adams said he will ask Gov. Andrew Cuomo for assistance in making the burn center a reality.
The FDNY said the cause of the fire was deemed accidental and was related to electrical wiring in the building.
