Assemblyman Dov Hikind issuing free smoke detectors, warning of charity scams after deadly Brooklyn fire

MIDWOOD (WABC) -- A New York State lawmaker is trying to raise fire safety awareness in the neighborhood where seven children were killed in a fire over the weekend.

And officials are warning that some people are trying to take advantage of that tragedy with fake fund-raising sites on the internet.

Brooklyn Assemblyman Dov Hikind has two major concerns after the horrifying fire, including bogus charities claiming to raise money for the fire victims and the apparent absence of smoke detectors in many of the homes in the area.

The fire claimed the lives of seven of the Sassoon family's eight children, with the matriarch in a medically-induced coma and the eighth child in critical condition. The father was not home at the time.

Fire marshals say they kids, who were sleeping upstairs, might have had a chance if there were smoke detectors on the first and second floors of the home, instead of the just the basement. That may have alerted them to the hot plate in the kitchen that had shorted out.

Instead, the home became an inferno, and the children died on the upper floors.

On Tuesday, Hikind announced his office would distribute smoke detectors free of charge. They have a 10-year battery and donated by Home Depot.

"This amazing disaster that happened in our community, there were no smoke detectors," Hikind said. "That fire was burning for as much as a half hour before anyone in the house or outside knew there was a fire. It started downstairs. Everybody was upstairs. Those smoke detectors, when they go off, they drive you nuts. You have to react. You have to do something. There was no warning for this family because there were no smoke detectors. So we are distributing these smoke detectors today with a 10-year battery and a message to everyone out there everywhere, how could you not have a smoke detector? It may save your life."

Smoke detectors are available in the Hikind's offices on 48th Street in Borough Park.

As for the bogus charities, Hikind says there is only one registered charity raising money for the victims, called "The Sassoon Children Memorial Fund."

The new fund is part of the Jewish Communal Fund, and people who wish to donate or learn more can CLICK HERE for more information. In addition, checks may be made payable to JCF (add "The Sassoon Children Memorial Fund" in the memo) and mailed to Jewish Communal Fund at 575 Madison Avenue, Suite 703, New York, NY 10022.

For much more on fire safety and fire prevention, visit NYC.gov/FDNY.