A Brownsville family is now picking up the pieces after their apartment went up in flames, nearly killing a 19-year-old man.

Sidney Taylor almost lost his 19-year-old son Naszir after their home caught fire last Saturday night. He says that he was rescued by firefighters, and spent nearly an entire week in the hospital.

Now, Nazir's parents say he's partially deaf and requires a special fire alarm that's much louder and flashes lights.

The family says that not only did NYCHA fail to provide that, but that they say the regular smoke alarm wasn't working either. According to NYCHA, the alarm worked when it was tested a week earlier.

There's no record that a special alarm was requested. The fire department could not confirm whether the existing alarm was working and has not yet determined what sparked the fire.

The family says that has them fearing the worst.

"I had chills on my body because I'm like, 'Oh my son is in there,' and it scared me because of the way he was sounding when he was yelling out the window," said Sidney Taylor.

The family's brush with death is a reminder for all families to make sure their smoke alarms are installed and working properly.