A Brooklyn, N.Y., man, Raphael Henry, in a desperate attempt to save his sister, ran back into his burning home on Sunday but was rendered unconscious by the smoke, the New York Post reports.
“He came outside and found everyone had gotten out except his sister,” Raphael Henry’s son Raymond Henry told the news site. “He ran back into the house searching for her, yelling, ‘Maria! Maria!’ but he passed out before he found her. The smoke was so thick that he lost consciousness, and the firefighters had to rescue him.”
His sister, Maria Henry, did not make it. Her two daughters managed to escape the burning building in the New York City borough.
Raphael Henry’s fiancee, Ortis Cummings, spoke of how the man adored his sister. “He loved his sister. He would do anything for her. He almost gave his life for her,” Cummings said.
Raphael Henry, 65, who works as a Metropolitan Transit Authority maintenance worker, had to be treated for smoke inhalation. He is currently in stable condition, conscious and aware of his sister’s death.
The fire broke out in the early morning at approximately 3:15. Raymond Henry believes that the blaze was triggered by an appliance that was left on. Authorities say that they have not determined a cause as yet. More than 100 firefighters fought the fire, the Post notes.
Read more at the New York Post.