{"id":316339,"date":"2026-08-07T21:26:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T21:26:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/316339\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T21:26:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T21:26:09","slug":"fdny-pulls-second-body-believed-to-be-missing-grandma-from-bronx-building-destroyed-in-fire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/316339\/","title":{"rendered":"FDNY pulls second body, believed to be missing grandma, from Bronx building destroyed in fire"},"content":{"rendered":"

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<\/a> whose husband also died in the blast.<\/p>\n

Tashaila Parks broke down in tears as New York\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

Martin lived in a third-floor apartment with her 70-year-old husband, Lester \u2014 right above the apartment where an explosion sparked a five-alarm fire that gutted the building.<\/p>\n

Lester\u2019s body was found Wednesday as firefighters fought the blaze.<\/p>\n

\"LesterLester and Mary Ann Martin are pictured in an undated photo. (Courtesy of family)<\/p>\n

When asked if she knew the body recovered Friday was her missing aunt, Parks said, \u201cI won\u2019t know until we confirm tomorrow, but almost certain.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201c(It\u2019s been) 48 hours since the fire started and we still have no location of my aunt Mary Anne Martin,\u201d Parks said just hours before the body was recovered Friday. \u201cWe keep getting told that they did find somebody. They didn\u2019t find somebody. We just need to know.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"FDNYFDNY 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)<\/p>\n

Firefighters were forced to wait before recovering any remains as they shored up the compromised structure, according to FDNY sources.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey had been together forever, for more than 40 years,\u201d Park said about her aunt and uncle. \u201cThey were very much still in love.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"FDNYFDNY members work a fire at 374 E. 209th St. Wednesday Aug. 5, 2026 in the Bronx, New York. (Barry Williams\/ New York Daily News)<\/p>\n

Parks said Mary Anne was home at the time of the explosion.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy aunt usually doesn\u2019t go anywhere on Wednesdays. That\u2019s like kind of part of her routine,\u201d said Parks. \u201cSo, to our knowledge, she would still have been inside.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lester Martin\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\"NewNew 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)<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just got back from a big family trip to Pennsylvania,\u201d said Parks. \u201cWe had a wonderful time just being together.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut now this happened,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FDNY firefighters on Friday removed a second body from a Bronx apartment building destroyed in a massive fire…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":316340,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[262,263,266,85,267,9,24,264,11,10,12,261,265],"class_list":["post-316339","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-city","tag-county","tag-crime-and-public-safety","tag-latest-headlines","tag-local-news","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-new-york-county","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news","tag-news","tag-nyc-crime","tag-sub-county-region"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/316339","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=316339"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/316339\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/316340"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=316339"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=316339"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=316339"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}