Page 4 - aruba-today-20220112

A4 U.S. NEWS
Wednesday 12 January 2022
Hospital helper nearly overlooks brother after NYC fire

By BOBBY CAINA CALVAN "This is a very close-knit
Associated Press community. We are pre-
NEW YORK (AP) — The man dominantly from one town
on the gurney looked so in the Gambia called Alu-
familiar, but in the commo- nghare, so we are all fam-
tion of a big-city emergen- ily," said Dukuray, who
cy room, Yusupha Jawara drove to the Bronx from his
quickly turned his atten- home in Delaware on Mon-
tion back to other people day. "Most of the people
seeking medical help at St. here, we are all related in
Barnabas Hospital. one way or the other."
After a deadly blaze broke Many people in the build-
out at a Bronx apartment ing were also members of
building, Jawara, who the same congregation, he
lives nearby, rushed to the added, "so it's like one big
scene and helped trans- family."
port people to the hospital. Gambia's president, Ada-
But as Sunday wore on, his ma Barrow, expressed "pro-
concern about his family found sadness" about the
began to grow. His brother loss of life.
Hagi did not answer the "We are keenly following
phone. Neither did his sis- the developments through
ter-in-law. our embassy in the United
Then he thought back to Associated Press States," Barrow said as he
that brief glance of the ily began making funeral them from one family that were supposed to shut the extended condolences to
man whose hair and par- plans for their loved ones. tried to make it down to door automatically did the families of the dead
tially masked face looked "At that time, I didn't have safety but perished in the not work. A second door and wished speedy recov-
so much like his brother. It the focus to know that it smoke. also left open in a stairwell eries to those who were in-
couldn't be, he thought. was him." Fire officials say a malfunc- higher up acted as a flue, jured.
Surely, his brother would Jawara's brother and sister- tioning electric space heat- sucking smoke upward and Fire Commissioner Daniel
have been safe on the 18th in-law, Isatou, were among er started the blaze, which blocking residents from es- Nigro said the apartment's
floor, far from the fire that the 17 people who died as damaged only a small part caping. Among the dead front door and a door on

started 15 stories below. they tried to flee through of the building. But smoke were three children of Haja the 15th floor should have
"I was just helping the EMS thick, suffocating smoke engulfed the complex af- Dukuray and Haji Dukuray, been self-closing and blunt-
transport one person to the that rose through the stair- ter tenants fleeing the unit originally from Gambia, ac- ed the spread of smoke,
hospital when I saw him — well of the 19-story tower. where the flames began cording to Haji Dukuray, the but the doors stayed fully
somebody similar like him The victims of the the city's left the apartment door uncle of Haja Dukuray. The open. It was not clear if the
— on a stretcher being deadliest fire in more than open behind them in their uncle told The Associated doors failed mechanically
brought to the ER," Jawara three decades included hurry to escape. Press he did not know if the or if they had been manu-
said Tuesday as his fam- eight children, three of Spring-loaded hinges that children's parents survived. ally disabled. q

Brrr! Some schools close as extreme cold grips US Northeast

schools. "The safety of our tic cold front with northwest minus 26 degrees (minus 32
students and staff are al- flow, quickly switching to a C) atop Mount Washington
ways the focus of our de- southwest flow," he said, — known for its weather ex-
cisions." Low temperatures adding temperatures are tremes — with a wind chill
can result in frostbite to ex- expected to rise to around of nearly minus 72 (minus 58
posed skin in as little as 30 40 degrees Fahrenheit (4.5 C) as of 8 a.m. That was ac-
minutes, according to the C) in the Boston area later tually warmer than earlier in
National Weather Service. in the week. Wind chill tem- the morning.
Syracuse, New York, Man- peratures in areas near The Mount Washington Ob-
chester, New Hampshire, lakes Erie and Ontario in servatory posted a photo
and Burlington, Vermont, New York state were ex- on Facebook of a frozen
were among communi- pected to drop as low as plate of spaghetti support-
ties that also closed public minus 30 degrees Fahren- ing a fork.
schools. The closures came heit (minus 34 Celsius) by Temperatures dropped
just a few days after many the afternoon. To make into the single digits Fahren-
Associated Press
school closed because of matters worse, parts of the heit in many areas of Mas-
By MARK PRATT field — canceled classes, snow Friday. state were expected to sachusetts, with the wind
Associated Press saying they did not want The freezing temperatures be hit with up to 2 feet (0.6 chill making it feel well be-
A mass of arctic air swept children standing outside were caused by a pock- meters) of lake-effect snow low zero. The New Hamp-
into the Northeast on Tues- for extended periods of et of cold air descend- and winds gusting up to 40 shire Department of Health
day, bringing bone-chilling time waiting for buses. ing from Canada, but the mph (64 kph). and Human Services an-
sub-zero temperatures and "There has been an in- good news is that it is ex- The high temperature in nounced Monday that four
closing schools across the crease of covid with trans- pected to be a short-lived Vermont on Tuesday was COVID-19 testing sites over-
region for the second time portation personnel, which cold spell, said Bill Simpson, expected to be several de- seen by the state would be
in less than a week. would result in buses run- a meteorologist at the Na- grees below zero in some closed Tuesday because
Schools in Massachusetts' ning up to 30 minutes late," tional Weather Service's areas with wind chills of up of the cold. The sites are
three largest cities — Bos- according to a tweet Norton, Massachusetts, of- to minus 35 (minus 37 C). in Claremont, Manchester,
ton, Worcester and Spring- from the Worcester public fice. "We're getting an arc- In New Hampshire, it was Nashua and Newington.q