The latest on the NYC Bronx apartment fire

Firefighters stand outside the scene of an apartment building fire as they listen to New York City Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro speak to reporters in the Bronx, New York on January 10.

The Bronx fire on Sunday that killed at least 17 people, including eight children, is the second-most deadly US home fire in nearly 40 years, according to the National Fire Protection Association.

The fire came just days after another fire in Philadelphia killed 12 people. The death tolls from both fires places them in the top 10 residential fires since 1980, according to the association.

The National Fire Protection Association also reports that heating equipment is the second-leading cause of US home fires and the third-leading cause of home fire deaths and injuries. A malfunctioning electric space heater in a bedroom was the source of the apartment building fire, New York Mayor Eric Adams said Monday.

Mamadou Wague says the sound of his children screaming jolted him awake.

“Fire! Fire! Get up!”

Wague lives on the third floor of the building with his eight children, who range in age from 6 months to 18 years old.

Wague yelled for everyone to get out. But his family wasn’t able to run out of the building because there was so much smoke, he said. Terrified, they waited in a neighbor’s apartment until firefighters arrived to escort them out 15 to 30 minutes later. The children were crying, he said.

Wague, an Uber driver who immigrated to the United States from Mali in 2000, said the fire burned everything in his family’s apartment.

Now, the family is staying with friends in The Bronx, he says, but he doesn’t know what to do next.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams during a news conference on Monday outside the apartment building in the Bronx, where a deadly fire occurred.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that President Biden expressed his heartfelt condolences and offered support to New York City Mayor Eric Adams following Sunday’s devastating fire at a Bronx apartment building.

Psaki said she was “not aware” of any requests for assistance from the federal government but the White House would remain in close touch with officials in New York.

“Our hearts go out to everyone who was impacted and we’re very appreciative of the heroic work of the first responders who were on the scene so quickly,” Psaki added.

At least 17 people, including eight children, are dead and dozens are injured after a major fire impacted a Bronx apartment building Sunday,

The blaze was caused by a malfunctioning electric space heater, the fire commissioner said.

Daniel Nigro, the New York City fire commissioner, said the department was “certain” the fire started with a faulty electrical heater and that while the doors in the building are self-closing, the door to the 15th floor and the door where the fire erupted were not functioning as they should.

The fire itself, he said, was contained to the hallway just outside the two-story apartment, but the smoke traveled causing death and serious injuries.

He said the situation on the 15th floor was particularly “untenable,” due the level of smoke that billowed from the stairwell.

There was much discussion about the door mechanism, and the commissioner took the opportunity to deliver a public service announcement to residents to check and get those issues fixed if they notice them.

He also said the investigation would be looking into whether the alarm system went off regularly or if individuals smoking in hallways set off the alarms, among other potential issues.

Nigro said it did appear the alarms were working as a neighbor called to alert the Fire Department of New York to the building alarm.

Mayor Eric Adams added “we want to be clear here – we don’t want to add further trauma on that family because they fled the apartment…” where the fire started.

Christina Farrell, first deputy commissioner of the NYC emergency management department, said that none of the apartments were inhabited last night.

Many of the apartments will be able to be occupied as the week goes on, but many may not be able to be inhabited for quite some time, she said.

The office in conjunction with the Red Cross will continue to look for long-term housing.

Emergency personnel work at the scene of a fatal fire at an apartment building in the Bronx on Sunday.

A group of federal, state and local leaders announced they are forming a task force to examine what policy failures might have contributed to Sunday’s Bronx apartment fire, and said that they will guarantee all victims get services and housing. 

Leaders, including New York Rep. Ritchie Torres, who represents the 15th congressional district which covers most of the South Bronx, said they would focus specifically on policies and potential legislation on the safety of space heaters, which city officials cited as the source of the fire. They will also look into enforcement of self-closing doors, which is already required in New York City, they said. 

Torres was joined by Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson and local city council members Oswald Feliz and Pierina Sanchez to announce the initiative on Monday.

At least 17 people died, including eight children, and dozens injured, according to updated numbers from the city.

The focus on legislation is one part of a four-prong plan by leaders, which also includes ensuring permanent housing for the units destroyed, that those displaced in the short term can return to their units as soon as possible and provide any services needed for those affected.  

The landlord has offered to pay for 140 hotel rooms for all those who are displaced, and is also offering some housing unit alternatives at other properties to families whose unit is no longer habitable, said Torres. He also said other landlords have also offered up housing options as well.  

Officials are working with local agencies to help displaced families in the short-term to get them back into their homes as soon as possible, which might be as early as this afternoon, Gibson added. 

A distribution center is also operating at Monroe College in the Bronx, where services and resources will be available to those affected, according to Torres. 

All leaders thanked first responders for quickly arriving and helping those at the scene, and also thanked New Yorkers for the outpouring of support to help the fire victims. 

President Biden called New York City Mayor Eric Adams to extend his support on Monday as the city reels after a major fire impacted an apartment building in the Bronx borough, leaving at least 17 dead.

He added, “everyone is feeling the pain of what we are experiencing, but I would tell you this, and I say it over and over again. We’re going to get through this moment.”

The White House released a statement noting that Biden called Adams to express his condolences.

“Today, the President spoke with New York City Mayor Eric Adams to express his heartfelt condolences and offer support following yesterday’s devastating fire at a Bronx apartment building,” the White House said.

CNN’s Allie Malloy contributed reporting to this post.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed his condolences to those who died in the Bronx fire on Sunday.

In a tweet sent Monday, Guterres wrote, “I’m deeply saddened by the lives lost in the apartment building fire in the Bronx on Sunday. My thoughts are with everyone who has been affected by this tragedy, and with our host city New York.”

Cleaning and recovery crews work outside the apartment building in the Bronx on Monday.

The Bronx apartment building that was devastated by a deadly fire had been a beloved home for many immigrants from The Gambia for years, the West African country’s ambassador to the US told CNN.

Fadera traveled from Washington, DC, to New York after learning of the fire, which he says has devastated a close-knit community not only in New York, but in West Africa as well.

“Gambia is a very small country, 2 million people. Everybody knows everybody. We are all related. It’s a shock in our country right now,” he said.

Fadera told CNN he was heading to the hospital to speak with victims of the blaze. He said he is still working with city officials to determine exactly how many Gambians were affected – but there’s no doubt, he says, that the fire has devastated the community.

Fadera said he’s spoken with Gambians who lived in the building and were able to escape.

“They have horrific stories,” he said. “It was very sad. … I have never seen this in my life. This is so tragic. It’s really so huge.”

New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced instructions on how people could help after a major fire impacted a Bronx apartment building on Sunday, leaving 17 dead.

People prepares donations at Gambian Youth Organization near the apartment building where a deadly fire occurred in the Bronx, on Monday.

Medical examiners officials revised the death toll from the fatal Bronx fire to 17 dead – including nine adults and eight children, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said on Monday.

Adams was speaking at a news conference Monday with New York politicians including Lt Governor Brian Benjamin and US Rep Ritchie Torres. The Counsel General of the Dominican Republic was also present, he said. 

“This is a global tragedy because the Bronx in NYC is representative of the ethnicities and cultures across the globe, and so everyone is feeling the pain of what we are experiencing,” the mayor said.

The mayor had originally said Sunday that fire had killed at least 19 people, including nine children.

Broken windows are seen at a Bronx apartment building a day after a deadly fire swept through on Sunday.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams is holding a news conference now on Sunday’s deadly Bronx fire.

What we know so far: A malfunctioning electric space heater in a bedroom was the source of the apartment fire that killed 19 people, New York City’s fire commissioner said, in a tragedy that marks one of the city’s worst fires in modern history and raises major safety questions.

Nine children were killed, while 63 people were injured by “severe smoke inhalation,” with 32 sent to five borough hospitals in life-threatening condition, Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said Sunday at a news conference.

Now, the building’s fire alarms and a series of open doors are on the radar of investigators and officials probing the second major deadly fire in a week in the Northeast.

CNN’s Susannah Cullinane contributed reporting to this post.

Members of the Red Cross stand in front of a Bronx apartment building a day after a deadly fire swept through.

The Red Cross has provided 22 families emergency housing in the wake of the deadly Bronx apartment fire, a total of 56 adults and 25 children, the group said in a statement.

A local reception center at a nearby school served 275 meals and snacks, they said

The Red Cross is standing up a New York City service center at Monroe College in the Bronx from 12 to 8 p.m. ET where caseworkers will help register families for assistance and where mental health volunteers will be available to provide emotional support.

Read the organization’s full statement below:

Bronx fire survivor, Karen Dejesus, who says she lived in an apartment on the same floor of the fire, described what she saw Sunday night.

“I can see the flames, I can see the smoke and everything, you know, coming into my apartment,” said Dejesus. “You’re being trapped somewhere. As you see, we have no fire escapes, obviously the building was not fire-proof like we thought it was.”

Dejesus described a scene in which firefighters broke down her door to come in and rescue her, her granddaughter and her son. They had to climb out of a window to escape the flames.

Dejesus shared similar sentiments regarding hearing the fire alarms as other survivors.

“So many of us were used to hearing that fire alarm go off so it was like second nature to us,” she said. “Not until I actually seen the smoke coming in the door, I realized it was a real fire and I heard people yelling help, help, help.”

Dejesus said that the Red Cross has helped place her family in terms of housing.

At least 19 people, including nine children, are dead and dozens are injured after a major fire impacted a Bronx apartment building Sunday. The blaze was caused by a malfunctioning electric space heater, New York’s fire commissioner said.

A survivor of the Bronx apartment fire described the harrowing and frightening moments she and her husband realized their home was on fire.

Daisy Mitchell, a tenth-floor resident who had just moved into the building recently, told CNN’s Brianna Keilar she recalled her husband smelling smoke. “The alarm was going off for a while so I didn’t pay it no mind,” she said.

“I went to the stairs, I opened the door, it just blew me back [to] the house,” she added.

She recalled banging on the door, saying, “Let me in the house, I can’t see, I’m blind, I can’t see, I can’t see.”

“If I’d stayed out there for another three seconds, I would have been gone too,” Mitchell said.

“I never seen nothing like this before,” she added.

“It’s really devastating to have to see all the stretchers and the people who died, they kept coming out on the stretchers, the puppies lying in the exit, the dogs and all this, I mean … it’s really sad.”

Mitchell said she doesn’t know people in the building but she added, “I give all my love and my blessings go out to the families.”

Watch:

The investigation into the deadly Bronx fire will include whether the door to the apartment where the fire started had a malfunction and whether the buildings alarm system operated appropriately, New York City Mayor Eric Adams told CNN on Monday.

As several people remain in critical condition in various hospitals, there may be more loss of life, the mayor added.

“We were told and instructed that there were self-closing doors, we just need to look at the door to that apartment to see if there was any form of malfunction,” Adams told CNN’s Brianna Keilar on “New Day.” “We can’t make a determination until the fire marshals conduct a thorough investigation.”

“We have a law here in NYC that requires doors to close automatically,” he continued. “We also want to double down on that PSA that I recall as a child .. close the doors.”

The city will partner with the New York City Fire Department and the city’s schools chancellor to get the message out, he said. “Such a powerful message could save so many lives,” the mayor added.

At a news conference Sunday, FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro said the door to the apartment did not close when its residents left. “The smoke spread throughout the building, thus, the tremendous loss of life and other people fighting for their lives right now in hospitals all over the Bronx,” he said. 

Nigro said in addition to the door to the apartment where the fire originated being left open, at least one door was open from the stairwell to one of the upper floors.

Part of the investigation also will include why, as one resident put it, smoke alarms went off frequently, Adams said.

“Were going to look at that system and ensure that the alarms system didn’t repeatedly malfunction, and this is a wakeup call for all of our buildings. Do proper testing and ensure that complaints of repeated smoke alarms going off without any real smoke or fire? We need to make sure these systems operate because they save lives,” the mayor said.

When asked if the building was up to fire code, Adams said, “I believe that based on the preliminary report that it was up to the current standard.”

“These buildings were built prior to many of our new fire codes that were put in place, and once we have the report from the fire marshal we will be able to make a thorough evaluation on what needs to be done and how we move forward,” the mayor said.

Later when pressed again whether it was up to new codes given the age of the building, he explained that “it depends on what the actual code is,” including how the ventilation systems are laid out.

There’s a series of corrections that can often be made immediately, he said, but then separately buildings can also receive waivers. Adams said all this information will come out in the fire marshal’s report.

A resident had complained of a lack of lighting in the stairwells on CNN’s “New Day” earlier Monday, and Adams said the investigation will also look into whether there was proper lighting.

The Bronx apartment building a day after a deadly fire swept through the complex on Sunday.

A major fire in a residential apartment building in the Bronx in New York City on Sunday left 19 people dead, including 9 children, in what Mayor Eric Adams described as one of the worst fires the city has experienced in modern times.

The blaze sent 32 people to hospitals with life-threatening conditions, Daniel Nigro, commissioner of the New York City Fire Department, said earlier Sunday. A total of 63 people were injured.

A “malfunctioning electric space heater” was the source of the fire, Nigro said during a press conference. The heater was in the bedroom of an apartment, and the fire consumed the room and then the entire apartment, he said.

The apartment door was left open and smoke spread throughout the building when the residents left their unit, Nigro said.

About 200 members of the New York City Fire Department responded to the fire at the 19-story building at 333 East 181st Street. The fire began a little before 11 a.m. in a duplex apartment on the 2nd and 3rd floors of the building, the FDNY said.

Firefighters were met by “very heavy smoke, very heavy fire” in the hallways.

Victims were found in stairways on every floor of the building, many in cardiac arrest, in what Nigro said could be an unprecedented loss of life. The injuries were predominantly from smoke inhalation, he said.

Firefighters kept attempting to save people from the building despite running out of air tank, Nigro said. Some of the residents who were trying to leave the building could not “escape because of the volume of smoke.”

The FDNY posted several images of the scene showing ladders extending into apartment windows as well as a number of broken windows.

“This is going to be one of the worst fires that we have witnessed during modern times here in the city of New York,” Adams said.

Read more about the fire here.