Queens Woman, Who Was Suing Construction Company for Sexual Harassment, Dies in Fire

A Queens construction-safety inspector who was suing her construction company employer for sexual harassment was killed in a fire in her Queens home Sunday, October 19, 2009. Bianca Wisniewski, a 44 year-old Polish immigrant, filed a $20 million lawsuit this summer that charged that she was constantly harassed by other employees of the construction company and when she complained, she was dismissed from her job. She was due in federal court today for a hearing in her case.

Ms. Wisniewski was sleeping when a massive early morning fire erupted in her apartment at the Pomonok Houses in Kew Gardens Hills. It took more than 100 firefighters to put out the blaze. Ms. Wisniewski died at New York Hospital Queens. Her 17-year-old daughter and two male relatives were also home and were unconscious when the firefighters pulled them from the flames and were taken to Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx.

According to a New York Daily News article, FDNY officials said the fire was not considered suspicious. Ms. Wisniewski’s boyfriend, Bogdan Balamut, voiced a different opinion, explaining the strange phone calls she had been receiving. The response time of the firefighters was slowed because a 911 dispatcher gave them an incorrect address. The mixup is under investigation.



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