Outpouring of grief as victims of Bronx fire laid to rest

By BOBBY CAINA CALVAN
Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — A Bronx community is gathering to pay final respects to perished loved ones, a week after a fire filled a high-rise apartment building with thick, suffocating smoke that killed 17 people, including eight children. Earlier in the week, burial services were held for two children at a mosque in Harlem. The mass funeral at the Islamic Cultural Center culminated a week of prayers and mourning within a close-knit community with ties to the west African country of Gambia. All of the dead collapsed and died after being overcome by smoke while trying to descend down the stairwell of the 19-story building. Officials say the fire was sparked by a faulty electrical space heater.