(Washington Insider Magazine) -As a fuller picture of what caused New York City’s deadliest fire in three decades emerged Monday, hospitals rushed to save five individuals who were critically wounded in a Bronx apartment building fire.
Authorities say the fire started at 11 a.m. on Sunday, and dozens of other people were taken to the hospital. Thirteen persons have been hospitalized in critical condition. As of Monday morning, their whereabouts were unknown.
Investigators discovered that the fire was caused by a defective electric space heater, according to New York City Fire Commissioner Dan Nigro.
According to the fire department, roughly 200 firemen rushed to the incident on East 181st Street, and the flames were extinguished by 1 p.m., according to NBC New York.
Fire crew found victims on every storey when they rushed to the blaze, with several in cardio – respiratory arrest, according to Nigro.
Even when their own air supplies ran out, firemen worked to save lives, according to Mayor Eric Adams.
“Their oxygen tanks were empty and they still pushed through the smoke,” he explained.
An inquiry is underway, according to Nigro, to establish how the fire spread or if anything could have been done to avoid or limit it.
Adams’ office said in a tweet that the city will fly flags at half-staff until sundown Wednesday “as a mark of respect for the victims of the tragic fire.”
People who want to help individuals affected by the disaster can donate to a fund that supports victims’ relatives and survivors, according to the mayor’s office.
At least 21 families, including 54 grownups and 24 youngsters, have already been “displaced long term from their home,” according to the American Red Cross in Greater New York, which is providing support and emergency relief.
According to NBC New York, one of the residents who survived the tragic fire was preparing dinner in her third-floor flat when she spotted the smoke.
The fire is the biggest in New York City since an accident at the Happy Land social club in the Bronx killed 87 people in 1990.
It also came just days after a devastating fire in a Philadelphia row-house killed 12 people, eight of them were children. Neither of the four battery-operated fire alarms had been operating at the time, according to officials.
