Inwood fire leaves 3 dead, 14 hurt after flames engulf NYC apartment building
Three people died and more than a dozen were hurt after a large fire broke out early Monday morning at an apartment building in the Inwood section of Upper Manhattan.
The FDNY said the call came in around 12:30 a.m. for a blaze on the second floor of a six-floor walk-up on Dyckman Street between Broadway and Vermilyea Avenue.
A total of 14 people were treated by EMS, including one firefighter with minor injuries. Five people were taken to the hospital in severe condition, according to FDNY officials.
More than 190 fire and EMS personnel responded to the three-alarm fire. Video showed flames in the distance as fire trucks rushed to the scene. Firefighters were seen inspecting units and breaking windows.
Some residents who made it out through windows and fire escapes.
Resident Rita Vega described being woken up to the sounds of the fire alarm and people screaming.
"I'm hearing the alarms go off. I'm hearing my neighbors say fuego, fire," Vega said. "My dad goes to check outside and he sees just flames. And so he knows we can't go through there. So we're like, all right, we have to go through the fire escape. So we just put on whatever we can. We get through fire escape, come down. And then there were also, at that same time the firefighters were coming in."
Vega said people were climbing down with their children, pets and family members.
"I mean, it's harrowing, right? Because even though we're on the second floor, it feels 100, you know, floors up," she said. "Everyone's scared to come down. But like, we came down, and we were just letting our neighbors know, like, hey, come down. You're safe."
Rep. Adriano Espaillat said the building is very old, one of the oldest in the neighborhood.
"This fire was a very serious fire. It unfortunately resulted in many patients," FDNY Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore said.
Bonsignore stressed that it's important for residents in buildings to close doors if a fire breaks out.
"The apartments that had the doors closed had very little impact, no fire. The apartments that had doors open had more impact, more fire," she said.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani also stressed the importance of keeping doors closed during a fire.
"We continue to see fires across our city, and wherever there are actions that can be be taken to prevent those fires, we are going to do everything within our power," Mamdani said.
Fire Chief John Esposito said there are about 100 people displaced. The Red Cross is assisting around 30 people.
"We're asking the Inwood community as best as they can to please donate," said Junito Rodriguez, senior warden of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church.
Right around the corner on Cumming Street, donations for those impacted were beginning to grow due to the early stages of a drive hosted by Holy Trinity and in partnership with local leaders.
"People have been knocking on this door saying hey how can we donate? What can we do? So they love from this Inwood community. It has been absolutely immense," Rodriguez said.
