NY Daily News – February 17, 2015
by Dale Eisinger, Chelsia Rose Marcius, Stephen Rex Brown
A roaring fire at a Brooklyn housing project Monday forced a family of three to jump for their lives from a third-story window, leaving the mother with two broken legs, witnesses said.
The blaze at the Roosevelt Houses in Bedford-Stuyvesant broke out in the hallway of 128 Lewis Ave. just after noon, an FDNY spokesman said.
Investigators believe a couch in the hallway was set afire, sparking the near-fatal ordeal, a police source said.
Justin Whidbee, 16, told the Daily News he watched with horror as his friend Imani Lundy, 15, and her 4-year-old brother, Julian, jumped out of their building onto scaffolding below.
Their mother, Cipriana Lundy, 31, followed, and both her legs were broken upon impact.
“I was coming downstairs and the whole stairwell was burned. I couldn’t get from one side of the floor to the other, there was so much smoke,” Justin said.
When he made it outside, Justin spotted his friend.
“I looked up,” Justin said, “and Imani was dangling from the window, her mom was holding her. And she jumped.” Cipriana Lundy lowered Julian down to his sister and leaped from the window.
Imani then dropped Julian into Justin’s arms from the scaffolding.
“I was scared because I didn’t know if I would catch him,” Justin said. Firefighters used a ladder to remove Julian, 4, (pictured, left) was caught by family friend Justin Whidbee from the scaffolding after a family leaped from a Roosevelt Houses window to escape a fire.
“Me and my mom had to jump out the window,” the boy said before being taken away by his uncle Mike Ravenell.
Residents were praising Justin for catching the youngster.
“I know (Justin). He’s a good kid. I’ll have to thank him later,” said Jennifer Montalvo, 19, who lives on the fifth floor of the building.
The FDNY would confirm only that one person who jumped from the building was in critical condition at Kings County Hospital. The fire was under control in about an hour.
With Rocco Parascandola
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