FDNY firefighters on Friday removed a second body from a Bronx apartment building destroyed in a massive fire that heartbroken family members believe is a missing 65-year-old grandmother whose husband also died in the blast.
Tashaila Parks broke down in tears as New York’s Bravest carried the remains from the ruins of the fire-ravaged E. 209th St. apartment building in Norwood where her missing aunt, Mary Anne Martin, had lived.
Martin lived in a third-floor apartment with her 70-year-old husband, Lester — right above the apartment where an explosion sparked a five-alarm fire that gutted the building.
Lester’s body was found Wednesday as firefighters fought the blaze.
Lester and Mary Ann Martin are pictured in an undated photo. (Courtesy of family)
When asked if she knew the body recovered Friday was her missing aunt, Parks said, “I won’t know until we confirm tomorrow, but almost certain.”
Parks and her family have been anxiously searching for her aunt ever since the explosion tore through the building at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday.
“(It’s been) 48 hours since the fire started and we still have no location of my aunt Mary Anne Martin,” Parks said just hours before the body was recovered Friday. “We keep getting told that they did find somebody. They didn’t find somebody. We just need to know.”
FDNY firefighters work the scene during a massive Bronx fire in a five-story apartment building on E. 209th St. near Parkside Place in the Bronx on Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026.. (Barry Williams/ New York Daily News)
Firefighters were forced to wait before recovering any remains as they shored up the compromised structure, according to FDNY sources.
“They had been together forever, for more than 40 years,” Park said about her aunt and uncle. “They were very much still in love.”
FDNY members work a fire at 374 E. 209th St. Wednesday Aug. 5, 2026 in the Bronx, New York. (Barry Williams/ New York Daily News)
Parks said Mary Anne was home at the time of the explosion.
“My aunt usually doesn’t go anywhere on Wednesdays. That’s like kind of part of her routine,” said Parks. “So, to our knowledge, she would still have been inside.”
Lester Martin’s body was found in a collapsed section of the building and had to be temporarily stored in an alley before being transferred to the hospital in a body bag late Wednesday, family members and sources said.
New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner technicians remove the body of Lester Martin, who was found dead in a five-alarm fire on E. 209th St. in the Bronx on Aug. 5, 2026. (Kerry Burke / New York Daily News)
He had recently retired and was enjoying spending time with his family following the recent death of his son. The couple had one surviving son and several grandchildren, his niece said.
“We just got back from a big family trip to Pennsylvania,” said Parks. “We had a wonderful time just being together.”
“But now this happened,” she added.