How horrific! I'm so sad to hear this. I have kids of my own and can't fathom the pain they are going through right now.

This is a tragedy, but one that more than likely could have been avoided. What parent leave an infant unattended while leaving the house? Something is amiss here.

What sane human being leaves infant children alone? And why couldn't her husband fetch his own damned coffee? If the injured child survives -- and I fervently hope he does -- he should be removed from that careless and unthinking home.

The article states she went downstairs to get the can of coffee FROM her husband. It sounds a lot like a horrible set of circumstances than a result of neglect. I've heard of freak accidents happening all the time to kids in just a blink of an eye. Another reason why kids should never be left alone ever, no matter how safe the situation seems. Your condemnation of her is unfair.

to the family of the poor little girl. I think it's not the right time and place to judge the mother who fought against the fire to save her children. She just went downstairs - this truly doesn't sound like a case of neglect. Poor woman, poor little boy and girl, poor father. It's horrible to lose a baby like that, and the pain mother and son are going through in mind and body must be terrible. I'm very very sorry. Children's suffering always breaks my heart. And fire is such a cruel way to die. May her soul rest in peace and the family know no more grief and suffering.

I don't care if she only went out for one second. Even if she had smoke alarms installed in the home, the two children could scarcely climb out of their cribs and see to their own safety, now, could they? And a fire doesn't spread that quickly in the span of one minute. She had two options, and two options only: ask a neighbor to come over and watch the children for however long it might take, or STAY HOME. Of course, why couldn't her husband bring the can of coffee upstairs? I suspect that is a question he will be asking himself for a very long time to come.

To #6: Her babies could have been in their cribs, which is where you should leave a child alone if you leave the room. Also, how is what she did different than leaving a child on the second floor of a house when you're on the first floor? If you believe parents shouldn't even do that, than you are condemning any parent who lives in a 2-storey house.

I cannot fathom the pain this family is going through. It is very sad and may they be comforted during this dark time in their lives.

... but this "mother" should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Reckless endangerment, depraved indifference .... in the U.S., she'd be looking at a prison term. It is actually against the law to leave helpless infants alone in a house. At a minimum, you would lose custody. In the instant case, one infant perished in an inferno and another infant was injured. I actually bothered to look up New York statute. Not only does mommy lose custody of the children, but she's going upstate (i.e., prison) for eight-and-one-half to fifteen. Minimum. If the jury finds that she deliberately abandoned her helpless children, it's twenty-five to life. Getting burned in the process of attempting to "save" her children isn't mitigation. The jury would see it as a ploy. I'm not all that sure that I would disagree. C'mon, folks! You're living in an apartment building where fire has broken out not long before, and you leave your helpless children alone? Get a grip! That is either an act of extreme deliberation or an act of complete insanity. And that poor infant girl paid the price.

Because they'll full of litigation on cases based on someone else's perspective and emotional drive. You've already condemned this woman for willful negligence, in YOUR over-litigious society, for something that is the norm in HER society. And isn't that the phenomenon that continues to give the US a black-eye in the Middle East?

To this family,and the mother and the little boy who are struggling for their life. I know as a medical person nothing is more painful than a burn injury. They have been through more than enough. Now is not the appropriate time for criticism,or unkind remarks. I pray the poor little baby didn't suffer any and went straight home to her heavenly father.