Original title: US media: the most tragic fire in 30 years, New York fire facilities are suspected to be absent
Reference News Network reported on January 11 that according to the Associated Press New York on January 9, a heater in an apartment building in the Bronx district of New York City failed on the 9th, causing a serious fire, and thick smoke billowing from the scene, causing Nineteen people, including nine children, were killed. It was the deadliest fire in New York City in 30 years.
Electric heaters seem to be the culprit
New York City Fire Chief Daniel Nigro said the fire was started by “a faulty electric heater” in one of the apartments. This duplex apartment is located on the second and third floors of the 19-storey building. The door to the apartment was open at the time of the incident, and the smoke quickly spread throughout the building, Nigro said. One man rescued by firefighters said he was numb to the sound of fire sirens because of the frequent occurrence of false fires.
Some residents “couldn’t escape because the smoke was so thick,” Negro said. He said firefighters “found victims on every floor who were in cardiac and respiratory arrest by the time we rescued them”. Nigro said the situation was “unprecedented”.
Advisors to New York Mayor Eric Adams said the children were all 16 or younger. Adams said many of the building’s residents were originally from the African country of Gambia, forming a large Muslim community.
In addition to the dead, more than 60 people were injured in the fire, with 13 hospitalized and in critical condition, consultants said. Most of the victims inhaled a lot of smoke. Adams said the death toll was “very staggering.”
According to reports, the building on East 181st Street has 120 apartments and was built in 1973 as part of a modern economic housing project in the Bronx.
Both Negro and Rep. Rich Torres, a Democrat representing the district, said the fire was comparable in severity to the 1990 “Joy Farm” club fire in New York, the report said. That year, a man set fire to the Bronx club after an altercation with his ex-girlfriend killed 87 people.
The report pointed out that the death toll from the fire on the 9th was the highest number since the “Happy Farm” fire.
Firefighting facilities are suspected to be missing
From 1980 to 2018, the number of residential fires and deaths in the U.S. have more than halved, according to the National Fire Protection Association.
However, in less than a week, there have been two tragic apartment building fires in the United States, with more than 10 casualties. The fires are a reminder that while residential fires have become less frequent, they remain as terrifying as ever.
At least 19 people, including nine children, were killed in a fire at an apartment building in the Bronx, New York, on the 9th, reports said. Just four days ago, a fire broke out in a three-story townhouse converted into condominiums in Philadelphia’s Fairmount District, killing 12 people.
In a 2021 report, the National Fire Protection Association said widespread use of smoke alarms, as required by fire protection and building codes, was the main cause of the reduction in U.S. home fires from 734,000 in 1980 to 363,000 in 2018. As a result, the death toll from the fires also fell from 5,200 to 2,720.
The National Fire Protection Association says the best way to reduce the loss of life and property from home fires is to install sprinkler systems that “control 97 percent of fires.” However, many buildings were not installed.
“We can’t guarantee that every apartment or every common area will have a fully functioning fire alarm,” said Democratic Rep. Rich Torres. “A lot of buildings in the Bronx don’t have sprinkler systems, so it’s a big deal with New York City.” Homes here are more prone to devastating fires than most homes in the city.”
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