Emergency personnel work at the scene of a deadly fire at an apartment building in the Bronx on Sunday, January 9, 2022, in New York. Most of the victims suffered severe smoke inhalation, FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro said.
AP Photo | Yuki Iwamura
Ten adults and nine children died after a five-alarm fire tore through a New York City building on Sunday, Mayor Eric Adams confirmed in a tweet.
The fire started around 11 a.m. ET at a 19-story residential building on East 181st Street in the Bronx. The fire was extinguished before 1 p.m., NBC New York reported, after about 200 firefighters responded to the scene.
“This is going to be one of the worst fires we’ve ever seen in modern times,” Adams said at a news conference Sunday afternoon.
City officials said at least 63 people were injured. Earlier in the day, New York City Fire Commissioner Dan Nigro said at a news conference that he had anticipated “many deaths.” He added that many of the victims suffered from severe smoke inhalation.
Ladders are seen erected next to an apartment building in the Bronx after a fire broke out Sunday, January 9, 2022, in New York.
AP Photo | Yuki Iwamura
Mr. Nigro said the door to the attic apartment where the fire started was left open, causing smoke and fire to spread throughout the building at a rapid rate. “We’ve spread the word ‘closed, closed,'” he said, to slow the spread.
Firefighters “found victims on every floor and are taking them out in cardiac arrest and respiratory arrest,” he added.
The cause of the fire is still unknown and will be investigated. Nigro said he did not believe the source would be considered suspicious.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul say on Twitter she was “terrified” by the fire.
“The entire State of New York stands with New York City,” she said.
The Bronx Fire occurred just days after the blaze tore through a Restaurants in Philadelphia, killing 12 people, eight of which were children.
Firefighters work outside an apartment building following a fire in the Bronx, Sunday, January 9, 2022, in New York.
AP Photo | Yuki Iwamura
