NY Post
An 8-year-old Queens boy died Sunday when the illegally converted attic apartment were he lived was engulfed in a massive blaze — which also injured six others, including two of the youngster’s brothers, who leaped out a window to escape, officials and neighbors said.
Tighani Jones — who went by “Tiggy” and “Ti – Ti” — was found unresponsive by firefighters who arrived at the blaze at the two-story building on 160th Avenue in Springfield Gardens at 2:28 a.m. to find a deadly inferno.
“The second-floor was fully engulfed in fire when we arrived,” said FDNY Battalion Chief Pat Ginty. “Two children jumped to survive.”
Neighbor Travis Lewis, 18, said he could hear screams from the home.
“Then a burst of fire [came] out of the side of the house. Then glass started breaking cause people jumped out windows around back,” he said.
“The family was running up and down the street screaming. They just escaped… They were bleeding from breaking the glass and jumping out the windows.
“They came to sit here, you can see the blood. I was lost for words.”
A department of buildings inspection said there was an apartment built illegally in the attic where Tighani was found unresponsive.
The building’s owner, who was cited for the construction violations, didn’t respond to a message. The FDNY said a smoke alarm was present but was not working.
