A Bronx blaze that killed a 56-year-old woman three months ago was a case of arson, police said Wednesday.
A probe into the Oct. 5 fire that tore through the six-story Washington Ave. building near E. 185th St. in Belmont determined it was set by a firebug on the second floor about 2:30 a.m., cops said. No arrests have been made.
Yvette Dargan and seven other people were pulled out of the fire and rushed to St. Barnabas Hospital, where Dargan died the next day. Her death has been deemed a homicide since she died from injuries from the arson. The other victims suffered smoke inhalation and other minor injuries.
Dargan did not live in the building but in South Jamaica, Queens, according to cops. Cops are still investigating whether Dargan or anyone else in the building was specifically targeted by the arsonist.
A funeral was held for Dargan in Brooklyn in October.
“I will miss you in a way that no words could explain or no one human can imagine, only you and God knows the remedy to overcome this pain that I endure,” Dargan’s bereft husband, Tony Kennedy, wrote on an obituary page honoring his wife. “You meant the world to me. I could honestly and wholeheartedly say that I’m gonna miss you dearly. Even more so now because I know I will never get to hear the sweet sound of your voice or see that amazing smile that could brighten any room.”
Firefighters managed to bring the fire under control in under an hour.
Building residents told the Daily News that no fire alarms rang out in the building, despite the mounting flames.
A few residents opted to stay in their apartments while the fire raged and smoke filled the hallways.
Berthel Washington, 57, said she stayed behind because of a “lung problem.”
“I had to stay next to my oxygen machine but my house was full of smoke and I just heard noise, breaking walls, water,” she said.
Washington recalled being hit by a wave of heat and black smoke when she briefly opened her apartment door.
“There was soot all over the place,” she said, adding that the flames partially blocked her access to the fire escape.
“I would have been all messed up either way,” she said. “It was best for me to stay in the house.”
The building’s first floor houses various businesses, including a grocery store and pharmacy.
Anyone with information on the arsonist is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.