3-alarm house fire kills mom & her 2 kids

(Rosedale-WABC, Oct. 30, 2007) (WABC) -- A veteran corrections officer and her two children were killed when a fierce third-alarm fire tore through a house in the Rosedale section of Queens.

Eyewitness News is told Captain Renee Chong, a 20-year corrections department veteran, was trapped inside the house at 262-16 149th Road when flames erupted just before 5 a.m. this morning.

Firefighters rushed inside the home and apparently spotted the officer and her two kids trapped on the second floor. But the house partially collapsed, sent firefighters leaping out the windows and doors. Firefighters were forced to battle the flames from the outside.

Officials say they were unable to rescue Chong and her two kids, Noah was 6 and Elliot was 8. Coworkers rushed to the scene, grief-stricken by the loss of a friend.

"She always talked about her children. She always had a love for her job. She was just a very good person, one of the nicest people I ever met," a coworker said.

Six firefighters were also treated for minor injuries.

The cause of the fire was unknown. Firefighters said it is an "active crime scene."

Kendrick Gibson who is legally blind, lives on the first floor but was not home at the time of the fire.

"I'm lucky I wasn't home last night. I'm so lucky I wasn't home last night," said Gibson.

Chong joined the department in February 1988 and became a captain in 2000. She was most recently employed in the Queens Criminal Court. She was dedicated to her job and family.

"She was a beautiful parent. I heard of someone speaking of her job performance but before that, she was a mother. She loved her boys," a friend said.

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