A major fire in a residential apartment building in the Bronx in New York City left dozens dead and injured, including children, on Sunday, January 9. Mayor Eric Adams described it as one of the worst fires the city has experienced in modern times.
A "malfunctioning electric space heater" was the source of the fire, FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro said during a news conference. The heater was in the bedroom of an apartment, and the fire consumed the room and then the entire apartment, he said.
The apartment door was left open and smoke spread throughout the building when the residents left their unit, Nigro said.
About 200 members of the New York City Fire Department responded to the fire in the 19-story building at 333 East 181st Street. The fire began a little before 11 a.m. in a duplex apartment on the 2nd and 3rd floors of the building, the FDNY said.
