Photo: Silver Dovelet / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0
NEW YORK – One man died and four other people were hurt in a two-alarm fire early Monday at a six-story apartment building in the Hamilton Heights section of Upper Manhattan, the FDNY said. The cause has not been determined.
Firefighters were called to Riverside Drive between West 143rd and West 144th streets just before 1:30 a.m. for a fire on the third floor. Within about 20 minutes it grew to two alarms, with more than 140 fire and EMS personnel at the scene. Flames and heavy smoke came out of a window.
The FDNY said an 80-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene. A 52-year-old woman was taken to a hospital with smoke inhalation and is stable. Another person had minor injuries and declined treatment. Two firefighters were taken to a hospital with minor injuries. The FDNY said there was heavy clutter inside the apartment. Residents on the fourth floor said they got out by the stairs or the fire escape. The Red Cross was at the scene helping residents, and the city’s Department of Buildings was there to investigate.
Why it matters: a death and an escalated response in an occupied building leave displaced residents and open questions about conditions inside. Still unknown: what caused the fire, how many residents were displaced, and when they can return.
Archival photo: an FDNY firehouse in Manhattan. It is not the building that burned.
JBizNews Desk | New York
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