BX. BLAZE KILLS 2
By JOE McGURK and HEIDI SINGER
 
Two young brothers were killed yesterday when a fast-moving fire swept through their Bronx apartment as their frantic mom vainly tried to save them, officials said.

William Mullen, 12, and Reggie Bergamy, 5, died after fire engulfed their second-floor apartment at 1216 Burke Ave. in Eastchester.

William was pronounced dead at the scene, and Reggie was rushed to Jacobi Medical Center, where he died soon after of cardiac arrest.

The blaze, which officials believe may have been sparked by an overloaded extension cord, erupted at about 2:20 a.m.

The boys' mother, Theresa Bergamy, "was hysterical, screaming for help, telling the kids to wake up," said neighbor Marie Carrero, 49.

"She was trying to do the best to save her kids."

Unable to make it through the thick smoke and fierce flames to the back bedroom, a frantic Bergamy rushed out of the building in her nightgown, pleading for someone to rescue her kids.

"She was crying, saying, 'Help my kids! help my kids!' " said another neighbor, Dorothy Swanston, an aide at William's school, PS 121.

"She was already out, but they were stuck up there. There was a lot of crying, a lot of people were out here, but nobody could help."

"The adults in the apartment did make an attempt to rescue the kids, but they had to leave the apartment," said Battalion Commander Chief Keith Cartica.

"They were faced with extreme conditions."

More than 50 firefighters battled the blaze, and brought it under control in about an hour. Six firefighters were treated for minor injuries.

The blaze was an accident, said Chief Fire Marshal Louis Garcia.

Marshals are investigating several possible causes in addition to the overloaded-extension-cord theory.

The boys' burned and melted toys, including an overturned firetruck and the scorched remains of a video game system, lay scattered around the Eastchester Gardens complex yesterday.

Unopened packages of school uniforms, shoes and books lay nearby.

"I got here about 3 a.m. and everything was gone," said the victims' distraught aunt, Sheila Stanley.

"It's hard to think about what they went through," said the Manhattan woman.

Neighbors said Bergamy and the kids were a close family, and a fixture around the 10-building housing project, always strolling or playing in the commons.

William "was a nice kid, quiet, no problems," said Swanston. "The little one was a typical 5-year-old."

Nancy McPartlin, a Jacobi spokeswoman, said "we worked on him for half an hour but to no avail."

Neighbors said Bergamy was treated and later released from an area hospital, and is now staying with a sister.

Extension cords cause several thousand fires in the United States each year, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. About 50 people a year die in such blazes.

Overloaded cords cause fires because they draw too much power out of the socket, causing it to become dangerously hot.

In the summer, air conditioners add to the typical electrical burden of Playstations, lamps, TVs and VCRs.