A popular animal hospital on Kingsbridge Road in Fordham Manor that has served the community for 90 years was seriously damaged when an after-hours fire broke out inside the hospital on March 27.

 

According to the FDNY, the blaze broke out inside of the Armory Animal Hospital, located at 18 East Kingsbridge Road, between Morris Avenue and Jerome Avenue in Fordham Manor, at 8:39 p.m. inside the ground floor of the three-story building. The department said no injuries were reported. We have asked if this means no humans or animals. An FDNY spokesperson later replied, saying, “I’m not seeing any reported injuries to animals for this incident.”

 

We also reached out to Animal Care Centers of New York to see if they had potentially taken in any affected animals following the fire. They later confirmed they had not. We are endeavoring to speak to the owner of the hospital and will share any updates we receive. We were instructed to call back and did a few times but so far, have been unable to reach anyone. 

 

An unnamed FDNY spokesperson said the blaze required a second alarm response with 106 fire department personnel from 25 units called to contain the blaze. The spokesperson said the fire was brought under control at 10.09 p.m.

The following morning, workers were already working to gut the hospital. Windows to the offices above it were already boarded up and the stench of smoke was noticeable a block away. One woman was seen exiting the hospital to greet a male visitor and the two had a long embrace.

 

An unidentified employee said that one bird had died in the offices upstairs. A second person who works with the hospital would later also confirm that one bird died.

 

Kings Wine & Liquors next door apparently suffered no damage, and the shop was open for business as usual on Friday, March 28.  However, the windows to the apartments above were also seen boarded up. A look into the hospital’s waiting room from the street showed a pair of holes in the ceiling that were clearly visible.

A second business, Continental Beauty Salon, located at 20 East Kingsbridge Road, suffered a smashed storefront window, a damaged security gate and ceiling, as well as smoke and water damage.

 

We asked “Ana,” the owner of Continental Beauty Salon, if she knew if the residents who lived over her shop were affected. She replied, “The people still have problems because the fire department damaged the windows, damaged the floors, and the people aren’t living there now.” She added that the residents were given temporary shelter.

 

Norwood News contacted the Red Cross for more specifics about any rehoused residents. Frederic Klein, regional communications manager, responded, saying, “After the fire on East Kingsbridge Road on March 27, 2025, the American Red Cross registered one household (two adults and one child) for emergency assistance, including financial assistance and temporary lodging. Our Disaster Action Team also provided care items to impacted residents, such as clean up kits.”

 

He continued, “Our casework team has met with this household to help them identify longer-term recovery needs and connect them with non-profit and/or government partners who can assist. Any residents impacted by this fire who need help with their recovery and have not already connected with the Red Cross should call 1-877-RED CROSS (877-733-2767) and select Option 1.”

 

When asked if they had assisted any animals, they said they had not on this occasion but mentioned, “If a family displaced by disaster includes a pet, our Disaster Action Team has pet kits they can provide (which includes things like pet food, pee pads, kitty litter, paper bowls, etc) as well as cardboard pet carriers, and there are hotels that we can arrange for people which accommodate pets.”

Asked where the fire started, Ana said, “The fire started in the animal hospital, and spread to the basement and up to the third floor. It originally started in the animal hospital. The fire department poured a lot of water on the roof and third floor, and the water came down affecting the beauty salon.”

 

Ana said that her business has been serving the community for over 100 years, and that different owners of the store had taken over the shop every 20 years or so. Asked how long she, herself, had been managing the shop, she replied, “Me? I worked for the previous owner, and I have been here for 35 years.” Having just remodeled her store five years ago, we asked Ana if she planned to rebuild. She said, “Oh yes, I love my job.”

Meanwhile, Jeff of Buddy’s Pet Coach Transportation, which transports animals for the Armory Animal Hospital said he has worked with the owner Dr. Albert Burchman for the last 38 years. We asked Jeff about the alleged dead bird. He said, “That’s what I heard too, I can’t give out information, but the bird did pass away.” He added that the death was likely from smoke inhalation.

 

Jeff continued, “Everything is going to be rebuilt and there’s going to be some mobile vans (for animals) outside which they’re doing now.”
“I know the place has to be gutted,” Jeff added, recalling that the animal hospital had been operating at the location for the last 90 years. In terms of rebuildiing, Jeff predicted, “I guess they will be ready to go for another 90 years.”

 

According to public records, the mortgage holder for the building is 18 E Kingsbridge Road LLC with an address in Brewster, NY, as of 2022. In response to this story, one reader commented that the building is “soon to be a high rise.”

 

In the context of prior discussions on the long-discussed, upcoming redevelopment of the nearby Kingsbridge Armory, which, as reported, is currently the subject of a legal dispute between rival bidders over the winning redevelopment plan, some local small businesses located along Jerome Avenue and East Kingsbridge Road organized a rally in December 2024 amid growing concerns that the commercial leases for these local, small businesses were at risk, as their landlords had apparently begun considering more lucrative offers in light of the impending Armory redevelopment plan.

 

According to the EDC and other City officials, Phase II of the winning redevelopment proposal, “El Centro Kingsbridge,” (if it goes ahead given the lawsuit) includes “450 units of permanently affordable rental housing adjacent to the armory.” We reached out to EDC to ask if 18 E Kingsbridge Road falls under the plans for the referenced adjacent affordable housing.

 

We were informed by EDC on April 4 that it does not. We had also asked for confirmation of the tax block and tax lot numbers of the (adjacent) buildings which do fall under the RFP plans. In response, we were informed by EDC that the affordable housing market will be constructed adjacent to the Armory, but no address or tax block / tax lot details were shared. We asked again for the specifics and will share any updates we receive.

 

One person we spoke to in the context of the fire alleged that in the past, the hospital had at times accepted animals/pets for overnight / temporary stays at the hospital at times but had gradually tried to pull back from doing so more recently.

News of the Fordham Manor animal hospital fire preceded other later news that the Happy Cat Sanctuary burned down on Long Island at the end of March, resulting in the death of its owner and founder, Chris Arsenault, and around 108 rescue cats. Arsenault reportedly started the sanctuary after rescuing a litter of kittens in the wake of dealing with the loss of his own son in an road accident. He reportedly was trying [and did manage] to rescue [some] of the cats when he died.

 

At home fire safety tips can be found at www.fdnysmart.org. The Office of the Bronx Borough President had previously launched a series of fire safety training sessions around the borough in conjunction with the FDNY.

 

The American Red Cross previously gave the following advice regarding pets and fire safety. “Keep pets near entrances when away from home. Keep collars on pets and leashes at the ready in case firefighters need to rescue them. When leaving pets home alone, keep them in areas or rooms near entrances where firefighters can easily find them.”

 

Additional advice included affixing a pet alert window cling and writing down the number of pets inside a home and attaching the static cling to a front window. “This critical information saves rescuers time locating your pets,” the website extract read. “Keep the number of listed pets updated.”

 

The website for Armory Animal Hospital is as follows: https://guardianvet-armory.com/contact-us/.

 

For some related coverage on this topic, click here, here, and here.