19 killed in apartment block fire in New York, mayor says
Nine of the dead were children, CNN reported, citing a city official
Nineteen people have died in a fire in an apartment block in the New York borough of the Bronx, Mayor Eric Adams says.
At least 63 residents were injured, 32 of them seriously, Adams told the CNN broadcaster.
Nine of the dead were children, CNN reported, citing a city official.
The New York fire department said that 200 firefighters had been deployed to extinguish the blaze in the 19-storey building.
The five-alarm blaze broke out about 10:54 am on the third floor of a 19-story building on E. 181st Street near Tiebout Avenue in Fordham Heights, FDNY sources said. By 1 pm, some 200 firefighters had brought the fire under control.
Mayor Eric Adams and FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro were on scene during the aftermath.
Medics rushed 32 people with life-threatening injuries and three with serious injuries to local hospital, officials said. Nineteen people had minor injuries and were treated at the scene.
"They keep pulling people out," an FDNY source said.
More than 40 people were rescued from the burning building, FDNY sources said.
The building includes apartments converted into duplexes and has spaces hard to reach for firefighters.
"It's a tough place to fight a fire," the FDNY source said.
Public records show the building has multiple open violations for mouse and roach infestations, peeling lead paint and water leaks. One open complaint with city Housing Preservation and Development makes reference to defective fire retardant material in a first-floor ceiling.