On the night of 27 December 2018, a fire tore through a Bronx apartment building in New York's Belmont neighborhood after a 3 year-old boy played with the stove knobs. As the child was rushed out of the apartment with his younger sibling by their mother the out-of-control blaze spread outside the 1st-floor apartment. The resulting inferno left 13 people dead and 14 people injured. It was the deadliest fire in New York in 25 years and as a result the City Council passed ordinances mandating self-closing doors and child-safety nobs in apartments, as well as more communication about fire-safety between fire departments and families with children.
Fire
Just before 7 P.M., an unattended child began playing with the burners on the stove in a 1st floor apartment. Soon after, a fire took hold in the kitchen and the boys screams alerted his mother. But in her hurry to get the boy and his younger sibling out she left the door to their 1st floor apartment open, which enabled the fire to breathe and spread beyond the apartment into the stairwell. Firefighters and emergency services began responding to the 4-alarm fire at 06:51. [1] The open ventilation enabled the fire to spread more quickly and pump more smoke into the hallway. As the apartment's kitchen went into flashover heat erupted from the open doorway and ignited multiple layers of oil-based paint in the main stairway.[2] The smoke from combustibles in the apartment and the burning walls of the stairway quickly permeated the entire apartment building, and within minutes the fire department was on the scene.
Smoke pouring into the complex was the main challenge for firefighters and civilians. "I opened the door, all I saw was black smoke..." one survivor who lived on the 1st floor told the news. The New York Fire Commissioner compared the stairway to a "chimney" [3] as it became a conduit for thick, toxic smoke via the stack effect. Smoke seeped into rooms through doorframe and ventilation systems, setting off fire alarms throughout the complex and awaking residents.
Around 170 firefighters responded to the 5-alarm fire. Temperatures that morning were in the teens with wind chill in the single digits, requiring some firefighters to huddle together for warmth as they sprayed water on the blaze. Their quick action was attributed to saving dozens of lives [1] A US army soldier who lived on the 3rd floor, Pfc. Emmanuel Mensah, ran back into the building after evacuating his family. He saved 4 other lives before unfortunately succumbing to smoke on the 4th floor. [4]
The Building
The building itself was at 2363 Prospect Avenue and housed 26 apartments on 5 floors. It was known to be home to many Dominican, Trinidadian, Ghanian, and Jamaican families. [5] While the building itself did not have any DOB violations, apartments 5 on the 1st floor and 23 on the 5th floor had faulty smoke detectors. [6] All of the individuals who died passed away on the upper floors above from where the fire started, mainly due to being obstructed by the thick smoke in the stairwell. Many residents were able to evacuate the upper floors via the fire escapes, but in the process of opening their windows gave the fire more oxygen.[5]
Aftermath
Mayor Bill de Blasio called the incident "the worst fire tragedy in at least a quarter of a century." 12 people were found dead in the aftermath, [7] with one more person passing away at the hospital. The fire ultimately killed 8 adults, 2 teenagers, and 3 children. New York City officials determined shortly afterwards that the fire had started as a result of a child playing with stove knobs. [8]
Policy Changes in New York City
In response to the fire, the New York City Council passed several fire safety resolutions focused on self-closing doors, improved fire alarms, and fire-safety awareness for families with children. Two bills that the Council passed in May 2018 include Int 0609-2018, which requires the fire department to create a plan on educating children and parents on fire-safety, and 0602-2018, which requires doors in R-1 and R-2 residential buildings to be self-closing by July 31, 2021. [9] On 11 November 2018, the City Council also enacted Int 1256-2018, which requires "residential occupancies with three or more dwellings" in mixed-use buildings to create fire-safety plans focusing on safety and escape planning for residents during a building fire. [10]
References
- ^ a b Helsel, Phil (30 December 2017). "Police identify remaining 7 victims in deadly Bronx apartment fire". Associated Press. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
- ^ Daly, Michael (29 December 2017). "Bronx Building's Oil-Based Paint Made It Burn Like 'Gasoline'". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
- ^ Helsel, Phil; Chuck, Elizabeth (30 December 2017). "Bronx apartment fire: Child playing with stove caused deadly blaze, officials say". NBC News. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
- ^ Southall, Ashley (17 February 2018). "Soldier Who Died Saving People From Bronx Fire Is Hailed at His Funeral". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
- ^ a b Keith, Stephanie (29 December 2017). "A Boy's Scream, a Door Ajar and 12 Dead in a Bronx Fire". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
- ^ "Deadly five-alarm fire tears through Bronx apartment building". ny.cubed.com. NY Housing and Preservation Development. 29 December 2017. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
- ^ Astor, Maggie; Southall, Ashley (28 December 2018). "Bronx Fire, City's Deadliest in Decades, Kills at Least 12 and Injures More". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
- ^ "Friday marks 1-year anniversary of historic, deadly Bronx fire". Eyewitness News abc7. 27 December 2018. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
- ^ Dastvar, Farzad (May 2018). "New Fire Safety Bills Passed by the NYC Council in May 2018: A Brief Overview". ny-engineers.com. NewYork Engineers. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
- ^ "NYC Council bills Int 0609-2018 & Int 1256-2018". legistar.council.nyc.gov. The New York City Council. 11 November 2018.