Menorah Blamed for Brooklyn Fire That Killed Mother and 3 Children

This so sad. Maybe people will remember to turn off the lights on the tree and blow out the candles. These deaths are senseless and tragic.

RIP. So sad.

I cannot understand how they could leave burning candles alone and go to sleep. I am alone, so I light the Chanukah electric one. This whole thing made no sense to me.

And as Christmas approaches: lit candles on a tree always stop my heart. Never, ever, leave a fire burning unattended. Ladybug, ladybug, fly away home. Tragic.

I find it hard to believe or accept that a Menorah caused this tragedy. I can't imagine any Menorah being lit at 1:00 or 2:00 AM.

I can still see my college roommate running out of the room into the less flammable hallway with a burning roll of paper towels after a failed attempt at lighting his menorah.

I grew up there many years ago and so did my parents. Brooklyn is the root of the country. Others have expressed their feelings and solutions. I can only express my grief, condolences and great loss. A father running thru a house, at the expense of his own life, to save his children. We would all do the same. We should all do the same and not just for our own children. My heart bleeds..

Life is often said to be sacred by those who call themselves observant Orthodox Jews but all too often the incremental thinking of the leaders of that community have erred in that their slow rationalizations lead them to tragedies. For just as menorahs are dangerous all too many things are also dangerous but also tolerated in a form of verbal idolatry that produces tragedy. My sympathies to the family and friends.

Awful tragedy, and I'm reminded strongly of the movie "Manchester by the Sea". A guy makes one dumb mistake and his house burns down, with kids inside. The cops tell him there are no charges, he just made a mistake like anyone could, and he's free to go. And on his way out of the precinct, he grabs a cop's gun and tries to kill himself. I hope the surviving members of this family get a lot of counseling and a lot of support, because they'll really need it. I can't imagine the kind of overwhelming grief they're going through, I've only lost one family member at a time, and never little kids. But I know, they're going to need a lot of help to get through it.

Having lit a menorah for my 64 years, I am both saddened by this family's enormous and devastating loss, yet I have basic questions. 1) what long lasting candles burn from sundown (close to 4pm) to 2am, the established start time of the fire? 2) whether placing the menorah in the window or elsewhere, wouldn't one remove all potentially flammable substances near the menorah, and finally 3) who goes to sleep with live fire burning in their home? My grandparents, born in 1882 Poland and raised in a shtetl, were aware the greatest and most common disaster that occurred (other than a pogrom) was fire. In the US they continued to be cautious, fire was most feared, and observed basic fire prevention- even before the advent of fire detectors. Our menorah has always been lit then placed in the kitchen, on foil on the stove away from anything flammable, including pets, and watched for the approximate half hour it takes for candles to burn.

Absolutely tragic and completely avoidable. Light the menorah on a clear (as in clean, empty) table top while you are awake. Metal, foil covered tray underneath the menorah. This is what I do. This should never had happened. I hope the family finds solace in each other at this awful time.

Very hard to understand how educated people continue to roll the dice with the lives of their children.

Such a tragedy. Never go to bed when the menorah is still lit.

Folks underestimate the danger of fire in a home. 20 years ago at Easter in Charlotte NC, my son-n-law fell asleep on the bed while a candle burned on a nearby bookcase. He awoke with the curtains, bed, his clothing and hair on fire, made the mistake of opening a window, which sucked the fire down the hall and into other rooms. He escaped with burns, but the house interior was destroyed. Fortunately, my daughter and their two young children were visiting with me; otherwise, said the firemen, they would have been suffocated in their little beds.

So sad. Such losses. Beautifully reported, however: thank you for giving relevant facts in a snapshot that conveys some of the closeness and tradition of support, geography and culture of this community.