On Sunday, January 9, a blazing fire in the Bronx killed a total of seventeen people, eight of those being children. The fire seemed to be caused by a space heater in the apartment complex. The New York City Fire Commissioner Dan Nigro stated that through eye-witness accounts and evidence it points to the heater being the culprit of this fire.

The first report of someone calling about a fire was at approximately 11 a.m. The person stated they heard alarms going off and saw smoke. The residents had said the alarms often went off at various hours of the day, so they promptly ignored them before realizing something was wrong. 

When residents began to flee from the second floor, where the fire initially started, the doors did not close fully. This caused the fire and deadly smoke to rapidly spread. The amounts of smoke throughout the building caused most of the 200 firefighters to run out of oxygen. Much of the smoke trapped the residences inside their apartments and made it impossible to leave.

It must also be pointed out that the building was built in 1972, with no fire escapes. The only means of escape would be the internal stairwells, which were filled with smoke at the time of the fire. Nigro said the building was potentially built outside of the New York City fire code. Newer buildings must have a sprinkler system to deal with fires, however, older buildings do not have to follow this rule. 

On Monday, January 10, a hospital representative announced two of the thirteen patients initially admitted had died, while five were still in critical condition. Many firefighters had found some of the victims already going into cardiac and respiratory arrest. 

New York City Mayor Eric Adams was at the scene talking to the press. He stated, “This tragedy will not define us.” Adams even said President Joe Biden offered resources from the White House to help aid the victims. 

The American Red Cross in Greater New York said it was providing housing for 54 adults and 24 children who were displaced due to the fire. 

The last time New York City saw a fire this terrible in its amount of casualties was over thirty years ago, being the 1990 Happy Land social club fire, which was set aflame after a man’s heated argument with his girlfriend. This fire killed a total of 87 people and caused casualties similar to the devastating Bronx fire.