2022 – Jan 9, Space-heater related fire (9 adults/8 children), apartment bldg., Bronx, NY-17

–19 Daily News, NYC. “Space heater sparks deadliest NYC fire in decades…” 1-9-2022.
–17 Wall Street Journal. “Bronx Fire: Space Heater, Faulty Door Played Roles…” 1-10-2022.

Narrative Information

Jan 10, Wall Street Journal: “The deadliest blaze in New York City in more than 30 years appears to be the result of malfunctions in both a space heater and a self-closing apartment door, city officials said Monday. The fire Sunday in a Bronx apartment building killed 17 people, including eight children, and injured dozens more. It was started by a space heater in the bedroom of a unit, city officials said.

“City officials previously said 19 people, including nine children, died in the fire. The city’s medical examiner adjusted the death count on Monday, according to city officials.

“Smoke from the fire engulfed the entire, 120-unit building because the apartment unit’s self-closing entry door remained open after the family fled the home, Fire Department of New York Commissioner Daniel Nigro said. ‘The door stayed fully open because it malfunctioned,’ said Mr. Nigro at a press conference near the building. He added that a self-closing door on the stairwell to the 15th floor also remained open during the fire.

“All of the fire’s victims suffered severe smoke inhalation, and firefighters found many in cardiac arrest, according to city officials.

“Mr. Nigro said that city fire marshals were still piecing together what happened at the building, in the Tremont section of the Bronx.

“The marshals have been examining the malfunctioning space heater, according to a person familiar with the investigation. The heater was oil filled. That type of model has an electric component that heats the oil. Fire marshals were working to determine whether the heater had oil in it at the time it caught fire, the person said.

“City rules require apartment units to have self-closing doors. The building was compliant with the rule, according to the building’s owner and city officials. Kelly Magee, a spokeswoman for the building’s owner, Bronx Park Phase III Preservation LLC, said Monday that the building didn’t have any open violations or complaints about self-closing doors. She said that in July 2021, maintenance staff repaired the lock on the door of the unit where the fire started. At the time, the self-closing mechanism was working, Ms. Magee said. The New York City Council approved the self-closing-door law in 2018 after another deadly fire in the Bronx in which a dozen people were killed. Closed doors help contain the fire to apartment units, according to fire officials….

“The fire started in a two-story duplex unit on the second and third floors of the building. Other units were also duplex apartments, which pose added challenges for firefighters because it is difficult to maneuver the hose inside and fight fires on multiple levels, according to Glenn Corbett, associate professor of fire science and public management at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

“Space heaters don’t cause as many fires as cooking accidents, improperly discarded cigarettes or faulty electrical wiring, Mr. Corbett said, but they do cause a decent amount of fires.’ Most space heaters have safety features that shut the units off after they have been running for a while, but older or faulty equipment can overheat and start fires, Mr. Corbett said. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that portable heaters cause about 1,700 fires annually, resulting in dozens of deaths.”

Jan 9, Daily News: “The deadliest New York City fire in decades killed at least 19 Bronx building residents Sunday, including nine children, FDNY sources said. The five-alarm blaze broke out about 10:54 a.m. in a bedroom of a duplex apartment spanning the second and third floors of the 19-story tower in Fordham Heights. The blaze was sparked by a malfunctioning electric space heater, officials said. Though officials said the heat in the building was functioning properly, the Bronx saw frigid temperatures dip into the high 20s early Sunday morning….

“Firefighters arrived within three minutes, their ranks soon swelling to 200 to battle the blaze at 333 E. 181st St. near Tiebout Ave., FDNY officials said. It was brought under control at 1:26 p.m. ‘They were met in the hallway with this fire,’ FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro said at the scene. ‘Very heavy smoke, very heavy fire.’ ‘This smoke extended the entire height of the building — completely unusual,’ Nigro added. ‘Members found victims on every floor, in stairwells, and were taking them out in cardiac and respiratory arrest.’

“It didn’t have to be that bad, Nigro said. ‘We’ve stressed this over and over, the door to that apartment was left open causing the fire to spread and the smoke to spread,’ he said. The building has no fire escapes and the stairwells meant to be used as emergency exits quickly filled with smoke, along with floors where stairwell doors were left open. ‘There were certainly people trapped in their apartments all through this building, which is why our members did an unbelievable job of getting through every floor of this building and getting to these folks,’ Nigro added. ‘But some of them were already in arrest when we reached them.’

“Medics rushed 32 people with life-threatening injuries and three with serious injuries to five local hospitals, officials said. Nineteen people had minor injuries and were treated at the scene. All of the victims suffered severe smoke inhalation, Nigro said….

“At BronxCare Health System, the former Bronx Lebanon Hospital, a couple mourned the deaths of two of their five children. Distraught father Mahamadou Tourey tried to form sentences outside the hospital’s emergency room where his 5-old daughter and the girl’s teenaged brother died….

“Hours after the fire was put out, Ousman Tunkara, 28, stared up at the building’s 19th floor where his 3-year-old niece lived. He learned from a family member the toddler did not survive the blaze…

“More than 40 people were rescued from the burning building, FDNY sources said.

“The building includes multiple units converted into duplexes and has spaces hard to reach for firefighters. It was built in 1972, city records show….” (Daily News. NYC. “Space heater sparks deadliest NYC fire in decades killing at least 19 Bronx building residents, nine of them children.” 1-9-2022.)

Sources

Daily News (Brittany Kriegstein). NYC. “Space heater sparks deadliest NYC fire in decades killing at least 19 Bronx building residents, nine of them children.” 1-9-2022. Accessed 1-9-2022 at: https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/ny-bronx-fire-apartment-building-20220109-g72gp7yowvdqhg6sn3j7pksj2e-story.html

Wall Street Journal. “Bronx Fire: Space Heater, Faulty Door Played Roles in Deadly Outcome, Say Officials. City’s Medical examiner also Monday lowered death count from 19 to 17, according to officials.” 1-10-2022. Accessed 1-11-2022 at: https://www.wsj.com/articles/bronx-fire-space-heater-faulty-door-played-roles-in-deadly-outcome-say-officials-11641841446