The fire that ripped through the historic brownstone on Madison Street in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section destroyed everything in its path, leaving Barry Ward and his 80-year old mother homeless.
"I lost pretty much what I had, but everything can be replaced," Ward said.
Ward had to rescue his mother, who was taking a bath and had no idea her house was on fire. Neighbors ran to help the woman they call Miss Esther get warm.
Behind the firefighters, she was standing on the sidewalk, still in her green shower cap.
"She appeared to be stable and more worried about her cat than anything else," neighbor Tyrana Carter said.
Ward's cousin was also in the home at the time of the fire. He narrowly escaped, thanks to a young neighbor who stopped him from running back into the flames.
"I was taught to help others," witness DeQuan Carter said. "I felt the same pain as him, so I wanted to go help him."
The Ward family has lived in the house for the last 60 years. Almost everything inside was destroyed, but the family is thankful that everyone was alright.
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WEB PRODUCED BY: Bill King
