A New York cabbie says his wife and four young children remain on ventilators after a fire tore through the Bronx apartment building where they live, killing 17. Mohamed Kamra, 58, said his wife Fotoumatia Fofana, 30, and children Mariam, 8, Jabu, 6, Abubakary, 3, and ten-month-old baby Ceesay are in induced comas after they managed to escape the smoke. But they suffered such severe smoke inhalation that they cannot breathe independently, and are all hooked up to ventilators in hospital. Kamra, who resides in the fifteenth floor of the Twin Parks North West with her family, was working in New Jersey at the time of the tragedy, he told the New York Post. After hearing about the tragedy, Kamra rushed his two-hour drive home, desperate to find out about his family. 'I thank Allah that my family made it, and I am hopeful with his continued blessing… they will make a full recovery,' Kamra told the outlet. When he arrived at the Twin Parks North West complex, he was told by FDNY crew that while all his family members had been rescued, they had been separated and taken to different hospitals to treat their injuries. Kamra said his wife is the most affected, but some of his children are showing signs of progress in the recovery. 'Jabu moves her head up and down when you ask her questions. I said to her, 'Jabu, I love you. Do you love Daddy?' And she will shake her head,' the father-of-four said. Fotoumatia Fofana (left) and her child, ten-month-old Ceesar, right, are connected to ventilators unable to breath on their own, because of smoke inhalation, her husband said Fatoumatia's other children, Mariam, 8, Jabu, 6, Abubakary, 3, are also connected to ventilators Kamra, pictured right, said he was frantic to find his family after he arrived to the Bronx apartment complex Kamra's wife and son Jabu were taken by first responders to St Barnabas and then transferred to Cornell Hospital, while Mariam, Abubakary, and baby Ceesay were taken to Jacobi. The distraught father said he has spent the past few days running from one hospital to the other, checking on his children and wife and praying for their recovery. Kamra was not immediately told where Jabu and his wife had been taken. 'I was frantic when I could not find my wife and Jabu,' he recounted. 'I am doing OK, taking it day by day.' Kamra's wife, Ftoumatia, is in critical condition, he said. He said she prioritized her children as she struggled to make it to safety in the pitch-black, smoke-filled hallways with the help of firefighters. 'I believe she was carrying two and the other two could walk on their own,' Kamra told the Post. 'I know she would put them first, she would take care of them before she takes care of herself, even if it risks her life. She would give her life for them, as I would.' Kamra said he remains hopeful that his family will recover, and that Jabu is already showing progress. 'Jabu moves her head up and down when you ask her questions. I said to her, ''Jabu, I love you. Do you love Daddy?'' And she will shake her head,' Kamra said. A social worker at Mariam's school has set up a GoFundMe page to help the family as they navigate their journey to recovery and Kamra is unable to work. 'I can't go to work. I'm going from one hospital to another taking care of my family,' he said. The father-of-four also told the Post that he understood why the family whose apartment the fire originated at was using a space heater to keep the place warm. 'Sometimes there's heat, and sometimes there's none. Sometimes some of the rooms are hot, and some are cold,' he said. 'It has been very cold out, and it's understandable to keep your family warm people will use space heaters.' Fire experts said the design of a nearly 50-year-old Bronx building and its older fire safety features likely contributed to the a blaze caused by a faulty space heater turning the complex into a smoke-filled chimney on Sunday morning The fire at Twin Parks North West complex in the Bronx broke out in Unit 3N, where the nine-person Wague family resided. Their residence is pictured Monday, covered in ash and debris The Wague family's apartment is seen completely destroyed. Father Mamadou Wague said the blaze left his eight-year-old daughter trapped in her bedroom on a mattress engulfed in flames. He pulled his daughter out of the flames and managed to escape The blaze is unit 3N was caused by a faulty space heater The entire unit was damaged by the blaze Investigators believe the fire was started by one of several space heaters in a third-floor unit after it was left running uninterrupted for days. Smoke then spread throughout the complex after the apartment's entry door failed to automatically close. On Tuesday, FDNY officials confirmed that several other apartments in the Twin Parks North West had been left running for days. The heaters were likely older models as more modern space heaters have automatic shutoff switches that force them to stop when they get too hot. FDNY recommends people to keep their heaters three feet from furniture, curtains or other bedding. Fire marshals are investigating why the space heater caught fire and why the code-required self-closing door that would have kept the fire from spreading to the hallways was not functioning. Despite investigator's findings that heating in the building appeared to be working after boilers were changed in 2015, residents of the apartment complex have said that space heaters were still needed in very cold days like that fateful Sunday morning. Jose Dineo, who lives in the third floor with his three children, told DailyMail.com Tuesday that space heaters are necessary in the winter. 'I feel good with the heat in my apartment,' Dineo, 40, said. 'We have an electric heater because before the building didn't have good heat.' 'Five years back the heat doesn't work well. After three years they put in a new boiler. We feel good with the heat but still sometimes, on days like today, definitely we need to use an extra heater.' John Jay College of Criminal Justice Associate Prof. Glenn Corbett told the New York Daily News that building management should have educated residents on how to properly use space heaters. 'Building management should be saying, 'Hey, folks, if you're buying space heaters you should get the modern ones and learn how to use them properly,' Corbett told the Daily News. 'That's what they should have been doing.'