The following is an extended version of the story that appears in our latest print edition.

A 12-year-old boy, Steven, saved his one-year-old baby sibling from a burning home that raged for over an hour on Nov. 20 in Bedford Park, aided by his 15-year-old best friend, Joshua, who lives next door, while firefighters responded to the blaze, the second of two residential fires, one fatal, to occur the same evening within the boundaries of Bronx Community District 7.

 

Describing what happened at the residential home at 112 East 198^th Street, with the permission of his parent, Pamela, Steven told Norwood News, “So what happened was I was playing my game and I smelled fire, so I went to the back [of the house] and somebody said that a lighter fell down, and that was what triggered it, and that’s actually what caught fire.”

He continued, “So, then my dad called the fire department. Then, once I go out, like fire went into my…the kitchen before we left. Like I was the first one out with a baby. Like I had a five-month-old baby in my hands.” [Steven’s mom later confirmed the baby is actually a year old.] Steven added, “The people told me to just go to the restaurant and wait.” A restaurant is located on the nearest corner of the street to where the fire broke out.

 

Meanwhile, with the permission of his parent, Virginia, and gesturing to his own home, Joshua said, “I was on this side. So, when he was sleeping, I was in my room just trying to my mind my own business. I was sleeping as well. I woke up earlier just to be like, well, what time is it? And I checked and there’s a smell of propane seeping through my window. I smelled it, and I asked my mom and I’m like, ‘Oh, my God!’ What’s that smell? What’s burning?’”

 

Joshua said his mom went into the kitchen straight away and saw an orange fire in the rear of the adjacent building change from orange to blue. “It was really hot,” Joshua said. He continued, “So, she came here. I rushed up to my sister’s house [near Joshua’s house] which is up there and I got my sisters and her kids and elders outside in time.” The affected building in which Steven lives is a multiple-family dwelling.

 

As we spoke to both youths shortly after the fire was extinguished, we asked where the baby was at that point. Joshua said his mom was taking care of the infant as Steven’s parents were searching the building trying to salvage some of their possessions. A short video of the fire scene, recorded by Joshua, can be watched here.

 

A male adult resident, who declined to share his name but who also lived in the affected building where the fire broke out, told Norwood News on the night of the fire, “I was sleeping and I smell like smoke, and then when my eyes opened, I saw like a flame in the back [of the house].”

 

Joshua also said he heard from a construction worker that there was or is a generator located next to a propane tank in the area behind the building and that the generator sparked, lighting the propane tank on fire.

FDNY officials later told Norwood News they received a call at 9.08 p.m. on Monday Nov. 20, for a report of a fire at 112 East 198^th Street, a two-and-a-half story mixed occupancy building (20×50), located [between] Creston Avenue and the Grand Concourse. They said 20 units comprising 60 fire fighters and EMS personnel responded to the blaze, which they said broke out on the first floor of the building.

 

They added that there were no reported injuries and that the fire was brought under control at 10.16 p.m. According to the FDNY, fire marshals are investigating the cause and origin of the fire. We asked the FDNY for a comment on what Joshua had said about the propane tank and generator, and a spokesperson said they could could not comment, pending their investigation.

Norwood News had been covering a separate fire that had broken out in Fordham Manor the same evening and therefore arrived at the scene of the East 198th Street fire in Bedford Park after it had been extinguished. A Con Edison vehicle was seen parked in the vicinity of the location.

 

Given Joshua said he had smelled gas, we asked Con Edison if they had been called to the location to respond to the incident. A Con Edison representative said, “There was no Con Edison involvement at 112 E. 198th Street in The Bronx. We were probably there as a precaution.”

On Saturday, Dec. 16, Norwood News visited the location of the fire once again and saw a notice (see above) affixed to the building site located next to Steven’s home. The notice refers to a fire and explosion investigation by Hayden Farm Consulting Inc., acting on behalf of State Farm Insurance Company.

 

Next door, Steven’s home was seen vacated and boarded up and a vacate order from NYC Department of Housing, Preservation & Development  (HPD) was seen affixed to the door.

 

We spoke to a local resident of the area on Saturday and asked if he had also heard about the alleged propane tank causing the fire. The resident said he had heard of it but had not seen it.

On the same evening that the fire broke out at 112 East 198th Street, fire department officials said a 57-year-old man died following a separate residential fire, as reported, which impacted two buildings located at 2677 Bainbridge Avenue between 196th Street and 194th Street in nearby Fordham Manor.

 

An FDNY spokesperson said the department received a call at 9.23 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 20, for a report of the fire at the location. The spokesperson said that upon arrival, firefighters discovered two houses on fire and immediately raised the incident to a 2-alarm emergency. “At 21.40 hrs, the fire escalated to a 3rd alarm, ultimately dispatching 33 units with 138 personnel,” the FDNY spokesperson told Norwood News. 

According to fire department officials, one civilian was found deceased upon the arrival of firefighters at the scene. Fire department officials said three firefighters were transported to area hospitals with minor injuries, following the blaze. They said the fire was brought under control at 11.46 p.m. and fire marshals are investigating the cause. Click here for the full story.

 

On Tuesday night, Nov. 21, police provided an update on the fatal victim. “A 57-year-old male was discovered inside the attic of the location and was pronounced deceased by EMS on scene,” an NYPD spokesperson said. “The FDNY Fire Marshal will determine the cause of the fire. The investigation remains ongoing at this time. The identity of the deceased is being withheld pending family notification.” As of Dec. 15, the identity of the deceased has not been disclosed.

Ten days after the two fires occurred, on Nov. 30, an early morning fire was reported at a construction site on the Grand Concourse, also in Bedford Park, as reported, and resulted in no injuries, FDNY officials said.

 

According to an FDNY spokesperson, the department received a call at 4.05 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 30, for reports of a construction fire in the vicinity of 2955 Grand Concourse, East Bedford Park Boulevard and East 201st Street.

In fact, 2955 Grand Concourse is a pre-existing residential building, but a 6-story, (125 x 75) multiple dwelling construction site is located two doors down from this address at 3005 Grand Concourse.

 

FDNY officials said 12 units, comprising 60 fire and EMS personnel responded to the call and the fire was placed under control at 4.26 a.m.

An FDNY spokesperson said there were no reported injuries and the cause remains under investigation. Norwood News also contacted NYC Department of Buildings (DOB) on Dec. 1 to see if the agency had any further information on the fire.

 

Ryan Deegan, DOB deputy press secretary, said, “We weren’t called to respond to anything matching this description.” Deegan said the department would continue to check around for any information on the incident. but didn’t have any specific details at the time we contacted them.

Deegan added that first responders generally only ask DOB to respond to a fire or incident in situations when they suspect there are structural stability issues at the building, or if they suspect there are other building code-related issues which they believe should be investigated. According to DOB’s website, a partial stop worker order is in place at the location. To read the full story on the construction fire, click here.

On the day we visited the site, a gas inspection warning sign from Con Ed was seen affixed to the construction barrier.

 

A partial stop work order dated Sept. 18, 2020 was seen affixed to the 3001 Grand Concourse construction site on Saturday, Dec. 16, though the top of the notice had been ripped off. (It may also have been there when we visited on Dec. 1.)

It referred to the reason for the order as having been either a violation of an Administrative code or a violation of a Zoning Resolution or because work was being performed in a dangerous or unsafe manner.

 

Meanwhile, the Con Edison gas inspection warning notice was no longer displayed on Dec. 16 when we visited the site once again.

According to NYC Department of Buildings (DOB) records, there are current active violations at the site as per the attached summary.

 

On Wednesday, Dec. 13, as reported, a commercial fire ripped through several small businesses in Kingsbridge [more to follow] and on Monday, Dec. 11, as reported, a partial building collapse in Morris Heights miraculously resulted in no fatalities.