Authorities believe a malfunctioning hotplate left on to keep food warm over the Jewish Sabbath sparked the fire that killed seven children in a Brooklyn house early Saturday morning. <br /> <br />Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said the victims were 5 to 15. He said a woman and a teenager, 14, survived after jumping from the second floor. They were in critical condition. <br /> <br />The woman, 45, is believed to be the mother of all eight children, Nigro said. <br /> <br />“This is the largest tragedy by fire that this city has had in seven years,” Nigro said. “It’s a tragedy for this family, it’s a tragedy for this community, it’s a tragedy for the city.” <br /> <br />Firefighters received a call at 12:23 a.m. about the fire at a private two-story brick home in Midwood, Brooklyn, a tight-knit predominately Orthodox Jewish enclave with a low crime rate. <br /> <br />More than 100 firefighters responded to the blaze and brought the fire under control in about an hour.
