Too frightened to escape
‘Beautiful’ autistic boy, 13, killed in B’klyn apartment fire
The mother of an autistic teen who perished in a fast-moving Brooklyn fire said she and an older son tried desperately to get him out of their apartment, but the frightened boy wouldn’t budge.
Relatives and neighbors were still in shock over the death of young Dylan Waldron Dickson, who died Sunday when flames tore through the fifth floor of the seven-story building in East Flatbush around 10:30 a.m.
Dylan’s mother and older brother escaped serious injury after the fire broke out in their apartment building on Snyder Ave. near E. 35th St.
Dylan’s mom, Trina Waldron Dickson, said his brother Camar saw smoke and fled the bedroom he shared with Dylan, but Dylan refused to leave.
“In the confusion, I’m pulling him — ‘Baby we have to go!’ ” she said. “He would not budge. He’s a big kid. I think Camar got injured going back for him. Everything happened so fast. He was afraid.”
The smell of smoke and the weight of grief clung to her Brooklyn apartment building on Monday, a day after the raging fire injured neighbors and firefighters in addition to killing Dylan, 13.
A 21-year-old man, a 50-yearold woman and Dylan were rushed to Kings County Hospital, where the boy died, cops said.
Dylan’s mother said she did not know how the fire started. All she knows is that the blaze stole from her a loving, affectionate child who was passionate about music and dancing.
“He was an awesome kid,” she said. “Even though he was on the spectrum, he never let that challenge hold him back. He was a kid that loved music, always happy. Loved to dance. Very affectionate young boy. He liked all type of music — soca, ‘The Electric Slide.’ He loved to play the guitar.”
Waldron Dickson said Dylan was the second youngest of seven children and attended nearby IS 231. She said Dylan lived his whole life in the same Brooklyn apartment.
She added that the family cat, Lovely, also died in the fire.
Dylan would have been 14 in just another month.
“His birthday is February 24th,” said his aunt, Allison Waldron. “Was about 6-feet tall and was a beautiful, loving boy.”
Neighbor Dick Nigel, 51, said he heard a scream quickly followed by darkness and chaos.
“Within two minutes, the entire hallway was completely dark,” Nigel said. “There is smoke and there’s fire coming.”
Nigel said he couldn’t see anything, but he bumped into Dylan’s mother and brother on the way out of the building.
“They were by the stairwell,” he added. “The last time I saw the older kid, he had blood all over his face. He was freaking out. I opened the door for the Fire Department. He came down running out . ...
“They were in a completely different world.”