Baby dies after burned by steam from radiator in NYC apartment: Police

ByMeredith Deliso ABCNews logo
Saturday, January 20, 2024

An 11-month-old boy died after he was burned by steam from a radiator in a New York City apartment, police said.

Officers with the New York City Police Department responded to an apartment building in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Midwood around 6 a.m. ET on Friday.

The infant was unconscious and unresponsive inside a bedroom, police said. He suffered burns after a radiator in the room leaked steam, police said.

The boy was transported to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead.

There are no arrests at this time and the incident remains under investigation, police said. The name of the infant has not been released pending family notification.

Online records with the New York City Department of Buildings indicate that the NYPD requested an inspection at the building on Friday "due to a faulty radiator causing steam to fill the bedroom." A "corroded" radiator pipe and damage to the ceiling and floor had been observed in the apartment, according to the records.

As of Friday night, inspectors with the Department of Buildings had yet to inspect the unit because the apartment remained a police scene, an agency spokesperson said.

DOB inspectors were able to access the boiler unit in the building.

"When the boiler was turned on, the apartment room where the child died filled with steam," the DOB said. "Further investigation found that the nipple connection to the radiator valve was separated and discharging steam into the room."

The DOB issued a cease use for the boiler and ordered the landlord to make repairs to the leaking radiator, the agency said. The DOB investigation remains ongoing.

A partial vacate order was issued for the apartment, online records show.

In 2016, two toddlers died after they were scalded by steam from a radiator in a Bronx apartment building.

The sisters were staying with their family in an apartment being used to house homeless families at the time.

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