NEW YORK -(Washington Insider Magazine) – While residents in the Bronx mourned the deaths of 17 people in a high-rise apartment blaze, authorities investigated how the smoke spread so swiftly.
The fire was sparked by a defective space heater, according to fire and city officials, but the thick smoke all across the building left inhabitants gasping for air as they attempted to flee. Commissioner Daniel Nigro of the New York Fire Department told USA TODAY on Tuesday that two self-closing doors failed to close properly, allowing smoke to spread.
According to Julie Bolcer, a representative for the Office of Chief Medical Examiner, all 17 persons died from smoke inhalation, and the city’s medical examiner declared the deaths an “accident.”
The identities of 14 fatalities, ranging in age from 5 to 50, were released by authorities on Tuesday. The eldest was a 50-year-old female who shared three other people’s last names.
Meanwhile, two residents have filed a complaint alleging that the building’s managers and owners failed to maintain a variety of safety elements such as self-closing metal doors, fire escapes, and smoke detectors. The case, which was filed on Monday, seeks damages in millions of dollars.
Between 2013 and 2019, New York City inspectors cited the building at least five times for faults with its self-closing doors, according to a database maintained by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development. According to the data, four were in apartments and one was in the stairway on the third floor, and were all repaired.
Apartment complexes, hotels, nursing homes, and other multi-dwelling units that lead into hallways or stairways must have self-closing doors and kid safety knobs, according to city regulations approved in 2018. As of July 2021, landlords were required to place self-closing doors.
Bronx Park Phase III Preservation LLC, the building’s owner, said in a statement that all doors in the building, including stairway and apartment doors, are self-closing, as required by code. According to the firm, there are no ongoing violations or complaints relating to self-closing doors at the property.
The lock on the entrance door to the unit in which the fire started was repaired in July by maintenance workers. The self-closing system was verified in line with the standard operating procedure at the time, and the company claimed no issues regarding the door had been submitted to the maintenance since then.
