11-Year-Old Shir Tevet Killed in Kensington Fire

An 11-year-old Jewish girl, Shir Tevet, a”h, was killed late on Monday night, after a two-alarm fire broke out in her house on Ocean Parkway at Foster Avenue.

The call came into FDNY at 10:20 p.m., of the fire at 761 Ocean Parkway. Video taken by a bystander shows flames pouring out of the front window of the first floor of the three-story home.

A neighbor who asked to be identified only as Lisa said she and her son “saw the flames bursting through the windows,” and “the entire block was just covered in black smoke.”

The fire was declared under control at 11:50 p.m.

Hatzoloh and other EMS personnel responded to the scene. Shir was transported to Maimonides Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.

A firefighter who was injured was taken by EMS to Cornell Medical Center where he is listed in stable condition.

The levayah will be held Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m. in Shomrei Hadas Chapels, at 3803 14th Ave. Burial will be in Petach Tikva, Israel.

Lisa recalled Shir as a “very sweet kid, always playing with the neighbors, animated, playful, friendly.” As Lisa spoke with reporters, her son, who knew Shir as well, stood nearby, visibly distraught.

“This is very tough,” said Lisa. “We had to process the trauma; it’s extremely traumatic for him.”

Rabbi Mordechai Korenblit, of the Lubavitch of Ocean Parkway between Avenues I and H, which Shir attended, recalled her as “a teireh neshama, a wonderful, wonderful girl with a lot of potential.”

Shir attended Yeshiva Ohel Moshe in Bensonhurst.

Ohel Moshe principal Rabbi Dov Machlis told Hamodia on Tuesday, “Shir came to our school because she wanted to further her knowledge of Yiddishkeit. She had a remarkable neshamah, which we tried to cultivate. One of our teachers gave her private tutoring outside the school. She was scheduled for another tutoring session tonight.

“Shir made a lot of friends at Ohel Moshe. This is a tragic loss for her family, for our yeshiva and for Klal Yisrael.”

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rborchardt@hamodia.com