Bronx Fire Injures 11, Officials Suspect It Was Intentionally Set
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – Eleven people are hurt following a fire in the Bronx, and investigators believe it was intentionally set.
The flames broke out around 9:15 a.m. at a building on West 242nd Street in the Riverdale section.
Neighbors watched in horror as firefighters rushed to rescue people.
"I just saw a lot of smoke. I saw smoke coming out the apartment on the second floor, or first floor. The fireman was smashing windows," Nelson Torres, who lives across the street, told CBS2's Kiran Dhillon. "Then later on, we noticed that there was smoke coming out from the top floor, too."
Torres said his friend Josh lives in the building and helped people escape.
"Going around different apartments rescuing people, and he was really in bad shape, with bad smoke inhalation," he said. "I'm really worried about him."
Torres says Josh was taken with the other victims to Jacobi Medical Center for treatment.
Daisy Baez's daughter was, too. She's suffering from smoke inhalation.
"I'm very grateful. I spoke to her early in the morning. She was crying, but she was stable," Baez said.
Four people were critically hurt, while seven others suffered minor injuries.
"I feel very bad, because that's the place that I work, and we're all together like family," said the building's super, Francisco Medrano. "So anything happens to the tenant, I also feel it."
Police said the suspect, a man in his 40s, was among the victims. While the motive for the alleged arson remains unclear at this time, police say it's reported the suspect is emotionally disturbed.
Neighbors said the suspect lives in the building, and his unit is where the fire started.
"They were having issues with a tenant there for a while. It's not the first time that the fire department was called," Torres said. "What I heard is that the [fire] came from his apartment and he was burned and had really bad smoke inhalation, as well. I don't know exactly what happened."
The investigation into exactly what caused the fire is ongoing. The Red Cross says it will work with any residents that may end up displaced as a result.
