House fire in Bronx that killed 4, likely caused by electrical malfunction: sources

Sunday’s deadly fire in the Bronx was likely caused by faulty electrical wiring. Investigators found a melted computer still plugged into the wall of the room where the fire started, law enforcement officials told the Post Monday.

The Quimby Avenue fire, which killed three young children and a young father, is still under investigation, but preliminary results point to an electrical malfunction, sources said.

There were working smoke detectors in the home, the FDNY said.

Municipal building records show no previous violations in the building, although firefighters found an illegal basement dwelling while battling the blaze. Sources said that the deadly fire did not originate there.

The building was largely exempt from City Inspectorate requirements because it is listed as a single-family home, so inspectors would not have been able to look for a basement unit.

The home’s converted basement included a full kitchen and bathroom fixtures, all built without city planning permission, DOB records show.

The fire also spread to an adjacent building, causing damage including holes in the roof, forcing the city to issue an eviction order for that building as well.

The fire killed Ahmed Saleh, 22, his 10-month-old daughter Barah, and his younger brothers, 12-year-old Mohamed Waleed Ahmed and Kalheed Ben Saleh, 10.

Horrified neighbors in the Castle Hill neighborhood recalled the trapped boys screaming for help as the flames consumed the building.

“You could see their little hands banging on the windows,” neighbor Merlyn Persaue sobbed on Sunday. “They shouted: ‘Hey Allah! Hey Allah!’ which means, “Help me, God! God help me!’

“I see hands in the windows, and then the flames wash up against the windows,” said Persaue, 60. “And then there was no more sound.”

Another neighbor said he was able to help save the dead boys’ mother and her only surviving son.

“They screamed,” the neighbor said of the woman and one of her sons. “You cried.”

Additional reporting by Tina Moore