A Bronx father is praying Tuesday for the recovery of his twin 6-year-old son and daughter, critically injured in a fire, as he continues to grapple with the death of his “joyful” baby boy in the blaze.
“I’m just being hopeful and praying,” Kwesi Harris told the Daily News Tuesday. “Their hearts are beating. But the brain cannot go a certain amount of time without oxygen. The machine is giving them oxygen.”
Harris, a nurse and Guyanese immigrant, said the twins, Isis and Oseaes Parks-Harris, have remained in critical condition since first responders pulled them out of the blaze Monday afternoon.
“They’ve been doing a good job,” Harris, 50, said of the staff at New York-Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell. “For a little while blood was not flowing so they’re doing what they can to keep it flowing.”
Along with his twins, first responders pulled Harris’ 1-year-old son, Liam Parks-Harris, from the family’s second-floor apartment. Medics rushed the three children to St. Barnabas Hospital, where the baby was pronounced dead, cops said. The twins were later transferred the New York-Presbyterian’s specialized burn unit in Manhattan.
“I’m a very strong guy but yesterday I couldn’t hold it back because that’s my son. I’m still in tears — tears running down my face right now,” Harris said. “I’m going to miss him.”
The baby was Harris’ youngest of 14 children.
“When he seen me working out, he would go down and do a little pushup, trying to touch his hands. He was very active and happy child,” he said. “Liam is heartbreaking. I cry so much.”
Harris, who served ten years in the Guyanese military, said he had hoped to one day encourage his youngest boy to enlist in the armed forces.
“That enforced discipline in me,” he explained. “I wanted my son to have that same opportunity in America.”
The blaze broke out around 3:40 p.m. at the five-story building on Bainbridge Avenue near E. 194th St. in Fordham. One adult had serious injuries and another person minor injuries. Three firefighters were also treated for less serious injuries at a local hospital.
Harris, who was working in Brooklyn at the time, raced home when his wife called him to tell him their building was in flames.
“It’s heartbreaking but its something I have to accept and just stay strong and be strong,” the heartbroken dad said.