A three-year-old boy playing with stove burners accidentally ignited the fire that ripped through a New York apartment building, killing 12 people including four children, the city’s fire department chief said Friday.
The blaze broke out Thursday evening in a 25-apartment building near the Bronx Zoo, one of the most popular tourist attractions in the US financial capital.
Four people remain in critical condition following the inferno, which Mayor Bill de Blasio called the “worst fire tragedy we have seen in this city in at least a quarter century.”
“We found that this fire started in a kitchen on the first floor,” fire commissioner Daniel Nigro told reporters.
“It started from a young boy, three and a half years old, playing with the burners on the stove. The fire got started, the mother was not aware of it — she was alerted by the young man screaming.”
The boy’s mother fled with her two children, leaving the door to the apartment open — allowing the flames to shoot up the stairway and quickly spread in the building, as desperate residents fled to fire escapes, seeking rescue.
“The stairway acted like a chimney,” Nigro said. “It took the fire so quickly upstairs that people had very little time to react.”
“It seems like a horrible, tragic accident,” De Blasio said Friday.
– ‘Horrible, tragic accident’ –
More than 160 firefighters rushed to the scene and worked for about three hours to control the inferno. In the bitter cold, water leaking from the hoses froze on the pavement.
Three girls — aged one, two and seven — and an unidentified boy were among the dead, police said. A 19-year-old woman was also killed.
Tearful residents said they heard cries of “fire, fire” in the building followed by a mad rush to exit the smoke-filled building.
Many fled into the frigid night with just the clothes on their backs.
The plaster and brick structure, built in 1916, had six open violations including for a defective smoke detector, The New York Times reported.
Nigro told reporters that investigators were still determining the condition of smoke detectors at the scene.
“Here in the Bronx, there are families that have been torn apart,” De Blasio told reporters late Thursday.
– ‘Died on various floors’ –
Two of the dead were discovered in a bathtub full of water, where they had apparently sheltered from the blaze, US media reported.
“This tragedy is, without question, historic in its magnitude,” said Nigro.
“It’s the time of year where people celebrate and certainly here, we have people who have lost their lives, lost their homes, lost everything, and we grieve with them.”
It was the second deadly residential blaze in New York, a city of 8.5 million people, in less than two weeks. A mother and three children were killed when a fire tore through their Brooklyn home on December 18.
In March 2007, 10 people were killed in another fire in the Bronx, which at the time was the worst blaze in the city since 1990 apart from the September 11, 2001 terror attacks.
Thursday’s fire was New York’s deadliest since 87 people were killed in a 1990 inferno at a Bronx social club, The Times said.
Sincerest condolences to all those who lost their loved ones in this epic tragedy. This also hits close to home as 4 yardies lost their lives and Jamaica grieves for all. This lady , her 2 kids and her niece all from St Catherine moved over a decade ago for a better life n now this 🙁 :nohope:
Met! Thete should be a charge of reckless endangerment at least.
This gyal 3 yr a play eid de stove, till fire start and the gyal run out eid har pickney dem, door wide open and give yhe fir in HER place opportunity to kill 12 people. One woman with her 1 yr old clingging to her in the bathtub. Unfathomable to rass…she fi catch a charge
More dan one charge a 12 lives lost
Waaait deh a DAT gwaan??? I thought she and her kids died also! Sooo she and the fire starter kid gonna see a new year???! She fled and left the door opened!! :marah and the tub story with water OMG! Bwoy mi tink seh DAT could a save a life smh just wow! Not even water cuda save a life!
Kids like these have mental problems and will do it again and again.
Yes fire thing is a serious mental prob it start early
Doesn’t ALL apartment building in New York have fire escapes (on the outside of the building), even from the 5th floor? Why were these people trap inside the building?
No mention of smoke detectors….a must in every apartment and house. I’m amazed at how many houses I have been into and there is not one operable smoke detector and even when you bring it to the homeowner’s attention, they brush it aside. Adults need to be more aware of the importance of smoke detectors…Trust me, it save lives. You need one in every bedroom and one outside the sleep areas/hallways.
Not all buildings have fire escapes and certainly not all apartments have them. Just so sadddd.
I am so upset at this smh
Why don’t I see any charges for this woman who allowed her child to play with the stove she was clearly not paying attention to the little boy and leave the door open? Jesus man that had to be a huge fire as to how it spread so fast man I know people act fast but sheeeshhhh I can’t even understand the woman with the 1 year old in the bath tub saddens my heart … sigh .. what is life?
This idiot woman and her retarded kid…sorry but I’m pissed. They made it out and these innocent people did not. This kid will do it again. The mother is a retard. Everyone knows to shut the damn door when running from a fire. God bless the deceased
Everyone knows to shut the damn door when running from a fire.
I know how you feel, but very few people in this type of situation would think to close the door when attempting to escape when there is a raging fire behind them. All they are thinking about is getting the hell out of there.
Maybe something the City should do via public service announcement to inform the general public of what to do in case of a fire. There are so many fires in these apartment building in New York over the years and it is time the fire code be upgraded in these apartment building, irrespective of the age of the building. I use to live in Manhattan many years ago and most of the building (more than half) was abandoned due to fire damage.
Maybe they should require sprinklers in the stairway of these buildings due to the chimney effect.
The building did have fire escape and smoke detector but the blaze got out of control quickly so not everyone was able to save themselves. There were people who were rescued from the fire escape. Also, when the firemen arrived there was no water in the hydrant because it was frozen and they had to go a few blocks to get water. its Very sad and I feel for everyone who lost their lives it’s very very sad and heartbreaking, especially how it happened with that kid.
I just look at a video of the fire and you are correct there were fire escape at the from of the building. I saw a picture of the rear of the building and it had no fire escape at the rear and a few of the units had window air conditioning units install in the windows.
Curious though, but why were tenants rescued from the fire escape? Why couldn’t these tenants just walk down the fire escape to the ground floor?