19 including nine children die in New York City apartment fire

Photo from rescue operations (Credits: Reuters)

New York: A malfunctioning electric space heater caused a fire that killed 19 people, including nine children, at a New York City apartment building in the Bronx, the fire commissioner said on Sunday.

FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro said the fire quickly consumed the duplex unit spanning the second and third floors where it started.

Flames shot from apartment windows as smoke filled the building. One resident rescued by firefighters said he'd become numb to fire alarms because of frequent false alarms.

Stefan Ringel, a senior adviser to Mayor Eric Adams, confirmed the death toll. He said the children killed were 16 years old or younger.

Thirteen people remained hospitalised in critical condition, Ringel said. In all, more than five dozen people were hurt. Most of the victims had severe smoke inhalation, Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said.

Adams called the fire's toll "horrific" and said this is going to be one of the worst fires that we have witnessed during modern times."

Firefighters found victims on every floor and were taking them out in cardiac and respiratory arrest, Nigro said. That is unprecedented in our city.

Approximately 200 firefighters responded to the building on East 181st Street around 11 am on Sunday. Initial reports said the fire was on the third floor of the 19-story building, with flames blowing out the windows.

The 120-unit building in the Twin Parks North West complex was built in 1973 as part of a project to build modern, affordable housing in the Bronx.

Sunday's fire happened just days after 12 people, including eight children, were killed in a house fire in Philadelphia.The deadliest fire prior to that was in 1989 when a Tennessee apartment building fire claimed the lives of 16 people.