Earlier this month, within the chilly morning hours, a 911 name reported a fireplace in a big residence constructing on the Grand Concourse within the Bronx.
Firefighters rushed to the scene and located {that a} hearth on the constructing’s prime ground had unfold to the roof. A number of engine and ladder corporations labored in brutal temperatures to battle the hearth. The hearth grew to a fourth alarm. Regardless of the fast and thorough response by the FDNY, the hearth precipitated in depth harm all through the constructing.
Inspectors and forensic engineers from the Division of Buildings have been instantly known as to the scene. They spent the following a number of days investigating the structural stability of the constructing and evaluating subsequent steps to guard the general public.
Groups from the Division of Housing Preservation and Growth assisted displaced residents from the constructing’s 48 residences and supplied emergency relocation help by companions on the American Crimson Cross, connecting them to protected, short-term housing and important assist providers.
Fortunately, nobody was killed within the hearth and there was only one harm. However it will likely be a while earlier than residents are allowed again inside.
Sadly, this scene within the Bronx shouldn’t be distinctive.
Day by day, the FDNY, DOB, and HPD reply to fires. A lot of them displace households, disrupt routines, and tragically declare lives. For the reason that starting of 2026, 15 folks have died in fires. Dozens of others have been displaced resulting from hearth.
The Grand Concourse hearth was brought on by a defective circuit breaker panel. Winter brings fires brought on by a wide range of causes, from area heaters positioned too near flammable objects, broken extension cords, or defective unlicensed electrical work. Fires grow to be extra damaging when smoke alarms or self-closing hearth rated doorways don’t perform or are lacking.
Property house owners and tenants play a job in stopping fires. For house owners, which means self-closing doorways in residences and customary areas should be put in and functioning so smoke and flames can’t unfold unchecked. Smoke alarms should be current and operational.
House owners should additionally present satisfactory warmth. When residences are too chilly, residents could flip to unsafe heating strategies that dramatically improve hearth danger. Metropolis legislation requires landlords to take care of indoor temperatures of no less than 68°F in the course of the day and 62°F in a single day. These are usually not technical necessities, they’re life-safety protections.
Tenants ought to take a look at smoke alarms repeatedly and substitute batteries as wanted. Be sure that residence doorways totally shut on their very own, and don’t block the door with something.
If a smoke alarm or door isn’t working, notify your landlord instantly. Do the identical in case your residence doesn’t have satisfactory warmth. If these points are usually not addressed, name 311 so a metropolis inspector can go to.
Some residents could use area heaters. In case you do, use regulated heaters with computerized shut-off options, place them on flat surfaces no less than three ft away from combustibles, and plug them instantly into wall retailers; by no means extension cords. At all times flip heaters off earlier than leaving a room or going to sleep.
It solely takes seconds for an unattended area heater or heated blanket to spark a fireplace, and simply seconds extra for that fireside to unfold.
Over the following a number of months, our companies will likely be scheduling joint conferences with group teams in all 5 boroughs to talk instantly with New Yorkers about hearth security. We’ll reply questions and educate residents on the hazards of fireplace.
When catastrophe strikes, our companies will at all times be there to assist. With a bit of little bit of training, working with house owners and tenants, we will maintain our metropolis protected.
Bonsignore is FDNY commissioner. Tigani is DOB commissioner.
