“This is going to be one of the worst fires in our history,” lamented the mayor of New York. At least 19 people died this Sunday in the giant fire that occurred in the Bronx district, north of the city, around 11 a.m. (5 p.m. in France). Nine of these victims are children and adolescents, said the mayor’s office quoted by American television. Sixty residents were also injured. The fire was caused by a portable heater according to city firefighters.
Approximately 200 FDNY members are operating on scene of a 5-alarm fire at 333 East 181 Street in the Bronx. There are currently 31 serious injuries to civilians. pic.twitter.com/yrTYwOfonH
– FDNY (@FDNY) January 9, 2022
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Footage circulating on social media showed huge flames and thick black smoke billowing from a window of a 19-story brick HLM-style building. Around 200 firefighters responded to bring the blaze under control within two hours.
The fire broke out in a duplex apartment located on the 2nd and 3rd floors of the building, has explained New York Fire Department (FDNY) Commissioner Daniel Nigro. The door to this apartment remained open and the smoke then spread to all floors. Firefighters were greeted by “very thick smoke, very intense fire” in the hallways.
Smoke inhalation
“They found victims on each floor and evacuated them while they were in cardiac and respiratory arrest,” said Daniel Nigro. This is unheard of in our city. We expect there to be many deaths. The injuries are mainly caused by smoke inhalation, he said. Many windows were broken, probably by residents trying to avoid asphyxiation.
George King, a resident of a neighboring building described a scene of “chaos”: “I have lived here for fifteen years, this is the first time I have seen something like this. He said he “saw smoke, a lot of panicked people” and that “no one wanted to jump off the building”.
BRONX FIRE UPDATE: Massive apartment complex leaves more than 60 people injured – dozens seriously. Mayor Eric Adams at the scene called it “one of the worst fires in city history.” pic.twitter.com/8am3s1xLPx
— Moshe Schwartz (@YWNReporter) January 9, 2022
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“There was a lot of smoke, so we had to stop on the sixth floor and were able to enter a neighbour’s house. We stayed there until the firefighters arrived and they could guide us to the exit,” Fatima, a resident of the apartment, told the channel. ABC7 New York.
A resident on the 11th floor of the building, Miguel Enrique, explained that he had just enough time to “take a coat and go down the elevator” because the hallway was black with smoke.
“A terrible day for us”
Eric Adams, the new mayor of New York, an African-American former police officer who took office on January 1, spoke of a “real tragedy not only for the Bronx and the city”. “It’s a horrible, horrible, painful moment for New York,” said this centrist Democrat, elected on a program to fight crime and economic and social inequality. “It really is an awful day for us. »
“I am horrified by the devastating fire in the Bronx today,” New York Governor Kathy Hochul said on Twitter. “My heart is with the loved ones of all those we have tragically lost, all those affected, and with our heroic FDNY firefighters. All of New York State stands together with New York City. »
