NEW YORK — At least 19 people died — including nine children — and dozens more were hurt in a “horrific” high-rise fire in the Bronx on Sunday, marking what could become the deadliest blaze the city has seen since a fire at a social club killed nearly 90 people in 1990, officials and fire sources said.
The blaze broke out inside a duplex apartment spanning the second and third floors of 333 E. 181st St., a 19-story building at the intersection of Tiebout Avenue and Folin Street in Fordham Heights, just before 10:50 a.m. on Sunday, FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro said at a news briefing.
Fire sources told NY1 at least 19 people died in the fire, including 10 adults and nine children.
More than 32 people suffered life-threatening injuries, at least nine suffered serious injuries and at least 22 were left with non-life threatening injuries, Mayor Eric Adams said at the briefing.
Nigro said he “expect[ed] there to be numerous fatalities.” The cause of the fire is under investigation, he added.
The building at 333 E. 181st St. in Fordham Heights. (NY1/Ron Lee)
“We won’t know the total yet of the outcome, but we do know that, as the mayor stated, 32 people were transported to hospitals in life-threatening condition. That is unprecedented in our city,” he said. “The last time we had a loss of life that may be this horrific was at Happy Land fire, which was over 30 years ago, also here in the Bronx.”
The fire at Happy Land Social Club in West Farms broke out on March 25, 1990, leaving 87 people dead.
Firefighters who responded to the East 181st Street blaze on Sunday morning were met with “very heavy smoke,” and found victims “on every floor, in stairwells,” Nigro said.
“They were taking them out in cardiac and respiratory arrest,” the commissioner said, adding that none of the victims appeared to have been burned, but instead suffered “severe” smoke inhalation.
The door to the apartment in which the fire started was left open, allowing flames and smoke to spread through the rest of the building, Nigro noted.
“We’ve spread the word: close the door. Close the door,” he stressed.
The building at 333 E. 181st St. in Fordham Heights. (NY1/Ron Lee)
Adams said the city and emergency organizations would provide support and resources to displaced residents and victims’ family members at a nearby school.
“This is a horrific, horrific, painful moment for the city of New York. And the impact of this fire is going to really bring a level of just, pain and despair in our city,” he said. “This is going to be one of the worst fires that we have witnessed during modern times, here in the city of New York.”
“We’re going to do everything we can to bring services on the ground here, to give people the assistance that they need as we all recover from the trauma of what we are witnessing here in the buildings behind us,” he added.
Inspectors from the city’s Department of Buildings arrived at the scene of the fire Sunday afternoon to carry out structural stability inspections and help with the ongoing investigation, the agency said.
Gov. Kathy Hochul on Sunday tweeted that she was “horrified by the devastating fire in the Bronx today.”
“My heart is with the loved ones of all those we’ve tragically lost, all of those impacted and our heroic FDNY firefighters,” she wrote. “The entire state of New York stands with New York City.”
