Girl, 9, injured in East Boston fire has died, officials say
After spending two weeks in the intensive care unit, a nineyear-old girl who was injured in a six-alarm fire in East Boston earlier this month has died, authorities said Tuesday.
It was the second life claimed by the fire that engulfed two multi-family buildings on April 2. One resident died and others jumped for their lives. Other tenants of the triple decker homes were rescued by firefighters using aerial ladders.
A spokesperson from the Suffolk district attorney’s office confirmed the child’s death. Officials did not provide the child’s name or age.
The Rev. Daniel Zinger of East Boston’s Most Holy Redeemer Church said he baptized Ceydi Karina Corrales at Massachusetts General Hospital on April 10 at the girl’s mother’s request.
It was a tearful bedside ceremony with the girl’s mother, a recent immigrant from Honduras, and the mother’s best friend present, Zinger said.
“It was very difficult for mom to watch her daughter pass away, but with the support of the good doctors and nurses at Mass General and with the support of the church here, she was able to give her daughter back to God,” Zinger said. “Our community here at Holy Redeemer is very wonderful, very united, and close knit.”
The family is in the process of sending the girl’s body back to Honduras for burial, Zinger said. A funeral mass will be held Saturday.
The fire broke out around 5 a.m. on April 2 at 430 and 432 Meridian St. and spread to 8 West Eagle St. It caused an estimated $5 million in damage and displaced approximately 30 people.
A resident of 430 Meridian St. died in the fire, officials said. The person’s name has not been released.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, Firefighter Brian Alkins, a spokesperson for the Boston Fire Department, said Tuesday.
Boston City Councilor Gabriela Coletta released a statement of sympathy to child’s family.
“I am devastated to learn of the tragic passing of a young East Boston resident,” Coletta said. “I send my deepest sympathies to her loved ones”
Coletta said her office is working with the Office of Neighborhood Services, East Boston Neighborhood Health Center, and East Boston Mutual Aid to help the families who were displaced.
“Additionally, we are so grateful to the broader community for helping us raise over $36,000 with the fiscal sponsor being the East Boston Social Centers,” Coletta said in an email to the Globe. “All money raised will be donated to individuals and families so they can restart their life.”