2019 Harlem apartment fire
| Date | May 8, 2019 |
|---|---|
| Location | Frederick E. Samuel Houses, Harlem, New York City |
| Type | fire |
| Deaths | 6 |
| Non-fatal injuries | 3 |
On May 8, 2019, a fire broke out at 2441 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard in Harlem, New York City.[1] The fire, caused by an unattended stove burner, killed 6 people including 4 children.
Fire
The initial 911 call was placed at 01:40 [1] The caller later described the flames to the news as "in one apartment. They were as vibrant and destructive as possible. It wasn’t pretty. I heard glass breaking, kids yelling." [2] Firefighters arrived within three minutes to find a fully involved apartment fire on the 5th floor of the Frederick E. Samuel Houses,[3] and 65 firefighters[1] were mobilized for rescue and extinguishment. Flames did not escape the apartment, but intense flashover occurred throughout much of the unit. A neighbor across the street described a large fireball erupting from the 5th floor apartment and its upper, adjacent unit: "Suddenly, there was a big fireball... all the windows came out. It was just a big ball of fire." New York City Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said that firefighters arrived to encounter aggressive flames immediately as they opened the door. [3].
By then smoke had spread throughout much of the 5th floor, pushing all the residents who could to evacuate. Residents who couldn't go down the main stairs or were pushed back by the smoke evacuated on the fire escapes on the outside of the building. [2]
Aftermath
After an hour firefighters were able to gain access to the apartment, and traced the origin to stove burners in the unit's kitchen. [4] Commissioner Nigro said that "it is a particularly large apartment with three bedrooms... every bit of that apartment had fire damage." Firefighters discovered the bodies of 6 people in two back bedrooms away from the kitchen: 2 adults and 4 children. 3 people had also received minor injuries during the evacuation process, [1] but the fire stayed inside the apartment it originated in.
Official Response
The Frederick E. Samuel apartments are managed by the New York City Housing Authority.[2] New York City had recently reformed policies around fire safety in NYCHA and other New York apartments to mandate child-proof stove burners, self-closing apartment doors, and better family education about fire safety in response to previous apartment fires. An official investigation was launched to determine the cause of the fire, but firefighters suspected from the beginning that it was an accident. [4]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Barron, James (May 8, 2019). "Harlem Fire Kills 6, Including 4 Children". The New York Times.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Marino, Joe; Feuerherd, Ben (May 8, 2019). "6 killed, including 4 children, in Harlem NYCHA apartment fire". New York Post. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Police: Harlem fire claims 6 lives, including 4 children". Associated Press. May 8, 2019.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Strahan, Tracie; Carroll, Benjamin (May 8, 2019). "6 Dead, Including 4 Young Children, After Fire Erupts in Harlem Apartment Building: FDNY". NBC New York.
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