Officials say a malfunctioning space heater caused the city's deadliest fire in more than three decades, which killed 19 people, including nine children, on Sunday in a Bronx apartment building.

The fire "started in a defective electric space heater" in an apartment unit on the second and third floors of the 19-story structure, according to Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro. The apartment door was left open, allowing smoke to quickly spread throughout the building.

New York City apartment building fire injures more than 50, kills 19

Some tenants, who were stuck in their flats, smashed windows to get some fresh air and shoved damp towels under the doors. Because of the repeated false alarms, one guy rescued by firemen said he'd become desensitized to fire alarms. "Because of the volume of smoke," Nigro stated, several residents "could not flee."

The children slain, according to Stefan Ringel, a senior adviser to Mayor Eric Adams, were 16 years old or younger. Many of the building's tenants were originally from Gambia, a West African country, and there was a sizable Muslim community.

According to Ringel, thirteen individuals were in critical condition in the hospital. In total, more than a half-dozen people were hurt. The bulk of the victims, according to fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro, suffered from severe smoke inhalation. Around 200 firemen arrived at the building on East 181st Street around 11 a.m., "discovering deaths on every level and bringing individuals out in cardiac and respiratory arrest," Nigro said, calling the death toll "unprecedented."

News cameras obtained photographs of firefighters using a ladder to approach the higher levels of the blazing building, many limp youngsters being carried out and evacuees with soot-covered faces. Luis Rosa, a building resident, claimed he was awoken by a fire alarm on Sunday, but rejected it at first, assuming it was one of the building's frequent false alarms, as per AP News.

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Cause of New York apartment fire

Mayor Eric Adams has already stated that the catastrophe "will be one of the deadliest fires we have seen here in contemporary times in the city of New York," citing the fact that 73 people died in the city's fires in the entire year of 2021. The fire appears to have started in a duplex unit on the building's third story, according to officials. Officials suspect smoke inhalation may be the blame for several of the injuries seen on the upper levels.

Firefighters arrived on the site three minutes after receiving the 911 call and found fire throughout the halls, according to Nigro. The fire and smoke spread because a door was left open, according to Nigro, who described the event as "unprecedented."

Fire gushed out of many windows of the structure, according to dramatic photos shared on social media. Just before 11 a.m., the FDNY began getting calls from various individuals on upper floors. Residents who managed to flee the building during the fire characterized the experiences as "traumatizing." , ABC7 Chicago reported.

The 120-unit Bronx structure was erected in 1972, according to city records. Residents revealed their desperate attempts to flee the building. When the fire broke out, Wesley Patterson, 28, was in his third-floor flat, where he had resided for 20 years.The 120-unit Bronx skyscraper was constructed in 1972, according to city records.

The fire originated in Wesley Patterson's third-floor flat, where he had resided for 20 years. He was in the bathroom when his girlfriend, who had seen flames billowing out from another apartment, hammered on the door. Within minutes, the flat filled with smoke, he said, as per The Daily Telegraph via MSN.

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