The Bronx apartment complex, where 17 people died in a fire in January, had to go through an inspection that never happened as firefighters were sent to the COVID task force to make sure restaurants were following pandemic rules, the report said.
Oren Barzilai, president of Local 2507, a union representing EMTs and FDNY inspectors, released the report Wednesday at a Fire and Emergency Management Committee hearing.
A plumbing survey was scheduled at Twin Park North West a year before the January 9 fire.
Ninety fire inspectors out of 450 in New York City have been transferred from their regular duties to help the city battle a staggering surge in COVID infections and deaths.
“This building was supposed to be inspected, but since they were sent to the task force, this building was not inspected,” Barzilai told the city council.
Barzilai added that fire inspectors would likely have noticed faulty self-closing doors that allowed the fire to spread throughout the building, causing eight children and nine adults to die from smoke inhalation.
“I blame the previous administration for not thinking things through,” he told the New York Daily News.
Councilwoman Joanne Ariola echoed Barzilai’s remarks, calling former Mayor Bill de Blasio’s policies “shameless” and vowing to request an investigation by the City Council’s Investigation Department and Oversight Committee.
A plumbing survey was scheduled at Twin Park North West a year before the fire killed 17 people, including eight children.
At least 200 firefighters responded to the fire, some of them arriving within minutes of the initial call for help.
Emergency personnel from the FDNY provided medical assistance to put out the fire – the worst in New York in more than 30 years.
FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro said the “very strong” fire and smoke “spread the entire height of the building” and said a heater started the fire. In the photo, firefighters rescued residents from a fire in January.
Fire safety experts said the construction of the nearly 50-year-old Bronx building and its older fire safety features likely contributed to the blaze, caused by a faulty heater that turned the complex into a smoky chimney.
Oren Barzilai, president of Local 2507, the union representing ER and FDNY inspectors, released a disturbing report on Wednesday.
At least 200 firefighters responded to the fire, some of them arriving within minutes of the initial call for help. As they entered the building, the first rescuers were greeted by flames in the hallway.
The death toll, originally reported as 19, was later reduced to 17. More than 60 residents were also affected by the fire.
Investigators said the fire was started by one of several heaters on the third floor after it had been out of service for several days.
The smoke then spread throughout the complex after the front door of the apartment did not close automatically.
FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro said a stairwell door that was supposed to be used as an emergency exit also failed, allowing smoke to spread through the building.
“The fire was contained in the corridor next to this two-story apartment, but the smoke spread throughout the building, and it was the smoke that caused deaths and serious injuries,” Nigro said at a press conference back in January.
The fire at the Twin Parks North West complex in the Bronx broke out in Block 3N, home of the Wag family of nine.
The apartment of the Vahe family is completely destroyed. Mamadou Wag’s father said his eight-year-old daughter was trapped in her bedroom on a blazing mattress as a result of the fire. He pulled his daughter out of the fire and managed to escape
The fire in Unit 3H was caused by a defective heater.
The fire damaged the whole block
The fire started in Block 3N, where Mamadou Wag lived with his wife and children.
Vahe said he was awakened by his children’s screams of “fire” and then found his eight-year-old daughter, Nafisha, screaming and locked on a burning mattress in her bedroom.
“I just grab it and run,” a West African immigrant told the New York Times after the fire. “I thought of nothing but getting her out.
Vahe, 47, pulled his daughter out of the burning bed with burns to her lips and nose and fled the block with his family. Nafisha received burns, but survived.
Fire chiefs ruled the fire “accidental”, noting that it was caused by a heater malfunction and that “a smoke alarm was present and working”.
Officials believe the fire spread so quickly because Vahe left his apartment door open while fleeing with his children.
New York City Fire Department emergency personnel responded to a fire at an apartment building in the Bronx.
Firefighters were stationed outside a 19-story apartment building in the Bronx after a faulty heater caused a massive fire.
In January, sheets were seen hanging from the windows of an apartment building at 333 East 181st Street in the Bronx after a fire broke out that killed 17 people.
A two-story fire destroyed a Bronx apartment building at 333 East 181st Street, and dozens of residents were rescued by firefighters through windows.
Large new apartment buildings in the city must have sprinkler systems and internal doors that automatically close to contain smoke and deprive fires of oxygen, but these rules do not apply to older buildings.
The five-alarm fire was New York’s deadliest in three decades.
Although the flames only damaged a small part of the building, smoke escaped through the open door of the Wagu family and flooded the stairwells with ash – the only way to escape, since the building was too high for fire escapes.
Some people were unable to escape due to the amount of smoke, while others became incapacitated while trying to escape. Several residents said the building’s fire alarm went off all the time, so they ignored it.
While there were no major violations or complaints against the building, according to city building records, it was reportedly substandard.
17 dead in Bronx apartment fire, New York’s biggest fire in three decades.
A horrific fire that engulfed an apartment building in the Bronx in January claimed the lives of 17 people.
The death toll, originally reported as 19, was later lowered to 17. All of the fatal victims died from smoke inhalation, a city medical examiner said.
The fire killed all members of the family of five. The tragedy killed 49-year-old Hadji Dukure, his 37-year-old wife Haya Dukure and children Mustafa Dukure, 12, Mariam Dukure, 11, and Fatumata Dukure, 5.
Fatumata Drammeh, 50, died in the fire along with her three children; daughters Fatumala, 21, and Aisha, 19, and son Mohammed, 12.
The deaths of Hagi Javara, 41, and wife Isato Jabbi, 31, were confirmed on Monday.
Fatumata Tunkara, 43, and her six-year-old son, Omar Jambang, were also killed.
Lehman College student Sera Janneh, 27, Hawa Mahamadu, 5, Seydou Toure, 12, and Usman Konteh, 2, were the only members of their families who died on Sunday.
The youngest victims were Omar Jambang, 6 years old, Howwa Mahamadu, 5 years old, and Usman Konteh, 2 years old.
