Man Dies In Early Wednesday Bed-Stuy Fire, Mother Escapes

BED-STUY, BROOKLYN —A 27-year-old man died in an apartment fire early Wednesday in the NYCHA's Brevoort Houses in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, according to WABC. The man's mother, who also was in the apartment, escaped the blaze.

Shamel Babb died from extensive burns while in his third-floor apartment on Ralph Avenue, according to the Daily News.

Babb's sister Kizzy Ayers, who escaped from the building's fourth floor, said her brother suffered from epilepsy, and she told the New York Daily News that the fire might have triggered seizures that prevented Babb from escaping on his own.

Babb's mother did escape from the apartment, but she was unable to get to her son, Ayers told the Daily News. The mother's identity was not revealed.

Authorities believe the fire started in the kitchen, but the exact cause remains under investigation, WPIX reported.

According to WPIX, at around 3:45 a.m., emergency personnel responded to a 911 call about a fire at the Brevoort Houses.

After FDNY firefighters extinguished the blaze, police found Babb unconscious and unresponsive with burns to his body, authorities said. EMS pronounced him dead at the scene.

No other injuries were reported.