A Brooklyn man killed in an apartment fire as a pair of SUVs blocked the two closest hydrants — slowing the FDNY’s response — was a Navy veteran up for a work promotion and planning to buy a house with his wife and family, neighbors said Monday.
Gregory Fernandez, 38, died after a fire swept through the third-floor apartment in Bay Ridge he shared with his wife and two children. He worked for the Veterans Health Administration helping fellow military members.
Firefighters said two SUVs parked at fire hydrants hampered their ability to fight the blaze that broke out 3:35 a.m. Sunday. The FDNY later posted pictures on social media of the two vehicles.
“That’s horrible,” said the victim’s father, Gregory Fernandez Sr. “That’s like a crime. People are dying because the fire department can’t assist because you park your car in front of a hydrant. That should be a criminal offense in my eyes. People die over that.”
The victim’s 34-year-old wife, Alexa, and one of their children, a 2-year-old boy, were critically hurt in the fire but later stabilized, authorities said. All three victims were rushed by medics to NYU Langone Hospital-Brooklyn, where Fernandez died.
“Seconds count in an emergency and the FDNY is begging New Yorkers in all five boroughs: Please DO NOT block fire hydrants,” FDNY officials said in a social media post. “There’s no time to waste working around a parked car when lives are on the line.”
Fernandez’ other child was away at a sleepover during the blaze, building residents said.
“They were just here with us a week ago. Laughing, playing, eating, making plans,” a relative of Alexa’s in Utah posted on Facebook along with a link to a GoFundMe to support the family.
“It is hard to believe how quickly things can change. I hope I don’t take any moment for granted. Life is fragile. Alexa is still in the ICU. When she recovers she will have to rebuild her entire life without the love of her life by her side. It’s tragic.”
The victim’s father said his son was a family man.
“He’s a great father and he’s a Navy veteran,” said Fernandez Sr. “He graduated from the University of Pittsburgh as a nurse. He was a male nurse. When he was in the navy he was in the medical side of it. I’m just in shock. He was an amazing person. Everybody loved Greg.”
Neighbors in the tight-knit four-story building on 80th St. near Sixth Ave. also described Fernandez as a dedicated father.
“He had some type of PTSD from when he was in the service,” said a neighbor, John O’Keefe, 70. “He was a Navy medic and he saw a lot and he was afraid of enclosed spaces and stuff like that.”
Despite his struggles, Fernandez was looking forward to the days ahead, O’Keefe said.
“He was excited about his upcoming promotion,” O’Keefe said. “They were planning eventually to buy a home. He was going to be in charge of the (VHA) East Coast of prosthetics, in the prosthetics department. He was going to have a big job coming up.”
O’Keefe heard banging on the door and alarms going off during the fire.
“I opened the door and smoke came in the apartment and the firemen were there,” he said. “The smoke was black. It came in with a cloud. I closed the door with force.”
He looked out his window and saw firefighters struggling with an air conditioner in Fernandez’ apartment.
“The fireman was working on knocking out an air conditioner,” O’Keefe said.
Firefighters also had to navigate around the illegally parked SUVs.
“We’re not sure whose cars they were,” said Devika Kodi, 24, one of the outraged neighbors. “I can’t believe this just happened. People just should be careful and know the rules.”
Kodi and her roommate were awakened by the smoke and alarms.
“A gust of smoke was coming from the floor,” she said. “We just grabbed whatever we could and ran down.”
Her roommate called 911 and knocked on neighbors’ doors.
“It was pretty scary,” she said.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
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