The cause of a New Year’s Day house fire the killed a 7-year-old girl on Staten Island is still under investigation, officials said.
According to NYPD officials, Rory DeCristoforo was pronounced dead at Richmond University Medical Center around 6:30 p.m. New Year’s Day– about an hour after the blaze was first reported at her family’s two-story house on Brookside Avenue in Castleton Corners.
“Loved and cared for by many, Rory will be missed beyond belief,” wrote Robert Chi in an online fundraiser, adding that the little girl was a “dark-haired, blue-eyed beauty with a playful, loving spirit” who looked up to her three older siblings.
By late Tuesday morning, the page had raised over $150,000.
Family members did not immediately answer phone calls.
Over 60 first responders came to the scene, and firefighters brought the flames under control in about an hour, according to fire department officials.
There were no other injuries reported, and the cause of the fire is still under investigation.
This is a developing story and may be updated.
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