Authorities are investigating the deaths of two men in a fire in Brooklyn as homicides.
Police say an accelerant was used in the fire that broke out at a brownstone on Hancock Street in Bedford-Stuyvesant around 9:45 p.m. Tuesday.
Tyrone Corely, 56, who lived in a third-floor apartment, died at a hospital. Stanley Wilkie, 47, who lived in a second-floor apartment, was taken to the hospital with smoke inhalation and died a day later.
Two women continue to be treated at a hospital for smoke inhalation.
No police or fire department personnel were injured in the blaze.
Corely's sister, Wynona Corely, said he was "larger than life and he didn't deserve what happened to him."
"My daughter said, 'Uncle T, I know it's you, I hear you. You got to jump!'," she said. "They had to jump. The passageway was blocked."
Neighbor Deborah Russell said, "I saw all the flames in the doorway, only in the doorway. It was massive."
Friends like James Ellis lit a candle at the front door, still confused as to why someone would intentionally cause so much devastation.
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"They were all good people who lived here," said Ellis. "They were all good people. This wasn't a drug den. Everyone here was over 40. I don't know why this place was targeted."
Wynona said the family was struggling, but is confident justice will be served.
