New York: A malfunctioning electric heater sparked a fire that killed 19 people, including nine children, in a New York City apartment building in the Bronx, the fire commissioner said Sunday.
FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro said the fire quickly consumed the duplex unit that spanned the second and third floors where it started.
Flames shot out of apartment windows as smoke filled the building. A resident rescued by firefighters said he had become desensitized to fire alarms due to frequent false alarms.
Stefan Ringel, senior adviser to Mayor Eric Adams, confirmed the death toll. He said the murdered children were 16 years old or younger.
Thirteen people remained hospitalized in critical condition, Ringel said. In all, more than five dozen people were injured. Most of the victims had severe smoke inhalation, Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said.
Adams called the death toll from the fire “horrible” and said this will be one of the worst fires we have witnessed during modern times. ”
Firefighters found victims on every floor and pulled them out in cardiac and respiratory arrest, Nigro said. That is unprecedented in our city.
About 200 firefighters responded to the building on East 181st Street around 11 a.m. Sunday. Initial reports said the fire was on the third floor of the 19-story building, with flames shooting out of the windows.
The 120-unit building in the Twin Parks North West complex was constructed in 1973 as part of a project to build modern and affordable housing in the Bronx.
Sunday’s fire occurred just days after 12 people, including eight children, died in a house fire in Philadelphia. The deadliest fire before that was in 1989 when an apartment building in Tennessee claimed the lives of 16 people.