She’s the “Angel of Howard Avenue.”
The household of 9-year-old lady killed in a Brooklyn home hearth is “broken” and making an attempt to take care of their “new norm,” the lady’s uncle advised The Post.
“This is day one after the aftermath of the fire, we’re rolling with the punches, taking the days as they come,” Joseph Thompson, 36, stated Saturday outdoors the charred Brownsville residence, which was being walled-off by employees. “Family is shocked by the blow of this tragedy, and we’re finding a way to find the new norm.”
Payton Thompson was killed early Friday when a three-alarm hearth raced by means of her household’s three-story residence. First responders rushed the unconscious little one to Brookdale Hospital, however she couldn’t be saved.
Thompson stated Payton’s mother — his sister — will not be doing nicely, noting, “We’re still trying to get her to eat, trying to get her to sleep. She’s broken, our family is broken.”
The uncle stated Payton died from smoke inhalation. The hearth stays below investigation, the FDNY stated Saturday.
Thompson, who additionally lives in Brooklyn, stated he was residence when he obtained the telephone name Friday and “rushed over right here. I went into panic mode, I didn’t know what I may do.
“No parent lives with the expectation of burying their child. Our family has taken several blows. Not like this, this is the first,” Thompson stated.
The heartbroken uncle, who’s a chef, known as Payton an “amazing young child” who beloved to sing and dance — and eat. “She loved her Uncle Joe’s ribs, and she loved cornbread,” he recalled.
The merciless twist within the tragedy is Payton died on the identical day her child sister, Lauren, celebrated her first birthday.
“It was difficult. We couldn’t really celebrate her life the way we wanted to, but we’re glad that Lauren still has life. It’s unfortunate that we didn’t get to celebrate. The first birthday you go big, and we just didn’t get to do that. We will though,” Thompson vowed.
A GoFundMe had raised more than $9,000 as of noon Saturday.
“We are grateful for all of the well-wishers. It’s amazing and overwhelming the amount of love that we’ve been receiving,” Thompson stated.
Linda Pipkin, 50, a neighbor and life-long household good friend, stated neighborhood members deliberate to fulfill at a church throughout the road Saturday afternoon to debate different methods to boost cash for the devastated household.
“She was a happy little girl, everybody loved her,” Pipkin stated. “From day one she stole everyone’s hearts. Payton is the angel of Howard Avenue. It’s a hard pill to swallow, it’s so sad.”
Said Pipkin: “They were supposed to celebrate her baby sister’s birthday, but God changed the plan.”
The shocked neighbor stated she was watching TV when the hearth broke out after which she heard sirens — and witnessed first responders feverishly making an attempt to save lots of the lady’s life.
“They was pumping her and pumping her, and ran with her down the block, pumping her, pumping. I started praying. It was like I was in the Matrix,” Pipkin stated of the surreal sequence of occasions. “I was watching TV [when the fire started] I heard sirens, I thought it was on TV, but then it wasn’t.”
She went outdoors to see “the kids had nothing on, the mom was in a bra and panties, I was grabbing blankets, wrapping them up, I was moving, but it was like I wasn’t moving. It’s all just a blur now. It’s a sad day. She’s up there looking over us.”
nypost.com
