One person has died and 10 others have been injured after a fire tore through an apartment building in the Morris Heights section of the Bronx, New York, on Wednesday, 23 September.
The blaze broke out at 1484 Montgomery Avenue shortly before 7.45am, with firefighters initially reporting flames on the fourth floor of the six-storey building.
Crews arriving at the scene found that the two-alarm fire had spread into an adjoining flat and the floor above. It later extended into the building’s roof void, known as the cockloft.
Bronx apartment fire leaves one dead
One person was pronounced dead at the scene. The victim’s identity has not been released.
Six civilians were also injured, including one who was taken to hospital with serious, life-threatening injuries. Four firefighters suffered injuries described by officials as non-life-threatening.
A total of 131 firefighters and emergency medical personnel responded to the incident, which took place between West 174th and West 175th Streets.
FDNY Deputy Chief Andrew Holzmaier said crews mounted an immediate internal attack but were confronted by the rapid spread of the fire.
“Units made an aggressive interior attack, but during the course of the fire, the fire spread to an adjoining apartment, two apartments above, and up into the cockloft space,” he said.
Firefighters brought the blaze under control after battling the flames through several parts of the building.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Officials have not indicated whether it was accidental or deliberate.
