There were no reported injuries after a basement fire broke out in a six-story, residential building in Norwood in the early hours of Sunday, Feb. 16, but the fire caused damage to at least two apartments and shocked its residents who were woken up and evacuated amid cold, continuous rain and sleet.

 

Police said they received a 911 call at 5.20 a.m. for a report of a fire in a multiple dwelling at 3551 DeKalb Avenue, located between East Gun Hill Road and East 212th Street. They said the fire was in the basement and that firefighters brought the fire under control at 5.58 a.m., with no reported injuries. They said FDNY fire marshals are investigating a cause. The FDNY press office added that the department was dealing with another overnight fire in Queens that had turned fatal.

 

At the scene, we spoke to one male resident, Ajoub, who lives on the fourth floor and asked him if he could explain what happened. “The fire started somewhere in the basement of the Super’s apartment and went up to the first floor here,” he said. “He lives with his family; everybody’s out.”

 

Asked if all residents had been evacuated, Ajoub said, “Well, they didn’t tell us, but everybody [exited] for safety. Almost everybody came outside.” We asked if he knew if anyone was hurt. He said, “No, only the apartment.”

The basement apartment appeared badly damaged after the fire with all DeKalb Avenue-facing windows shattered. The Super was busy and unable to talk but confirmed the Red Cross were on the way to help any affected residents with housing. [The number to call at the Red Cross for housing assistance is (877) 733 2767 or 1-877-Red Cross and select Option 1.]

 

Norwood News asked the Red Cross for details of any displaced residents. Frederic Klein, regional communications manager for the Red Cross of Greater New York, later said on Monday, “After the fire on Dekalb Avenue in the Bronx on Feb. 16, the American Red Cross has registered one household (one individual) for emergency assistance, including temporary lodging and financial assistance. Our casework team will follow up with this resident in [the] coming days to help connect her with longer-term recovery resources from government and/or non-profit partners based on her individual recovery needs.”

 

As residents made their way back inside the building, water was seen throughout the interior hallways, stairs, and lobby area. Some young families were seen carrying infants wrapped in blankets back upstairs. Outside temperatures around the time the fire broke out were around 33 degrees.

 

When asked, Ajoub said he estimated the fire started at around 4.45 a.m. [As above, the FDNY said they received a 911 call at 5.20 a.m.] Asked if there were many elderly people living in the building, he said, “One right here,” gesturing to one apartment on the first floor. “Elderly lady, very old lady; she’s inside.”

 

A petite, frail-looking, elderly female resident called Juanita who lives on the first floor, but not directly above the Super’s basement apartment, was inside the building wearing a facemask, no coat, clutching one heavy plastic bag and a handbag, and holding an inhaler. She appeared in shock and a bit tearful when we spoke to her. One of the side-facing windows in her apartment in her kitchen had been knocked in, presumably by firefighters in efforts to gain access to the building, and her electricity was out.

Her son, Benjamin, was with her. “It’s so cold!” she exclaimed, visibly upset. “I’m looking for my medication.” Referring to her son, she said, “He don’t live with me. He came to see me and he called the wife [and told his wife] ‘I’m going to stay with my mother because always she’s by herself.’ He’s married. He come to see me and sometimes when he comes, he stay on Saturday to make company because I lost my husband a couple of years ago.”

 

Juanita continued, “It’s okay that he visit me and make company for tonight. I live alone. I lost my husband in 2022, leukemia. He died at Montefiore Hospital, and a patient of Montefiore.” She added that she, herself, had asthma, among other illnesses.

 

Referring to Benjamin, who was lamenting the damage to his mother’s apartment, Juanita said, “He was there in the room of his father, and he called the wife. He came about 7.30 to see me, stay with me for a while, and then he call the wife, ‘I’m going to accompany tonight, to my mother,’ and then when I get out [of bed when the fire broke out], I said [to him] ‘Get out!’ He was there in that room that is empty.”

 

Explaining what her evening had been like prior to the fire, the 93-year-old widow said, “I went to sleep. My son stayed on the telephone. He said, ‘I’m going to stay with you, mommy, in that room. I make company [for] you, and I go tomorrow,’ and he called his son that he was going to stay, and then I fall asleep.”

Juanita continued, “I took the shower before. I put my gown, and I took one of my medication and then I went to bed. I was really sleeping peacefully when I hear the lady outside of the building. I wake up in front of the bedroom that is on that side and I say no way! What is that fire? When I see the smoke…..and they are here, the fire department!”

 

Juanita said she was determined to get out right away. “I tell my son, ‘Benjamin! you see?'” she said. “‘Look, you make company to me and look what happened!” She said she told her son, “‘Get out and put your pants [on]!'” adding, “Even he was sleeping, and he said, ‘No! What?’ and then he put the pants on and we get out.”

 

We also spoke to another female resident called Suzie and asked her what happened. She said, “There was a lady outside screaming, ‘Fire! Fire!’ on the street, so I smelled the smoke from my window because I live right [inaudible] the Super, so I ran out of my bed and I opened my window to the front, and I saw all the smoke, and then I ran back to my daughter and I tell her, ‘There’s fire! Get out the bed.’ She fell. She hurt her back.” We suggested EMS, who were at the scene still, could likely help her daughter, if needed.

 

Suzie continued, “And then, we grab our jackets and our clothes. When I was running, I was hitting everybody’s door. So we ran out, and then we were hitting everybody’s [door] and we have relatives in the building, so we were calling on them and they came out.” Asked if her apartment was destroyed, Suzie said, “No, it’s very smoky so we leave the window open.”

We also spoke to one other young man outside on the street who also lived in the building who said, “Nothing really happened. I mean, a lot happened. There was smoke everywhere.” He added that he also saw flames.

 

Another tenant from a nearby building on DeKalb Avenue said she was awakened by the fire truck sirens at around 5.30 a.m. and said the smoke from the fire was so strong, she could smell it as it entered her open apartment windows on the fourth floor.

 

Two days earlier, a residential fire had also broken out at nearby Rochambeau Avenue (3514) on Valentines Day, Friday, Feb. 14, injuring six, and another fire broke out at 3301 Olinville Avenue between Rosewood Street and Magenta Street in Olinville around the same time and on the same day, Feb. 14, the latter resulting in no reported injuries.

 

Meanwhile, a car fire which broke out in a parking lot also on Rochambeau Avenue in Norwood close to Montefiore Medical Center’s Moses campus one day prior to the residential fire, on Thursday, Feb. 13, resulted in no injuries, FDNY officials said.

Earlier this week, as reported, two people were killed in a Buddhist Temple fire on Wednesday, Feb. 12, in Fordham Heights. FDNY officials said a parked vehicle blocked access to a fire hydrant, hindering their response.

 

Late last month, there were no injuries reported following a residential fire at 3065 Grand Concourse between East 203rd Street and East 204th Street in Bedford Park on Wednesday night, Jan. 29, and one pet was the only casualty following a separate residential fire at 2587 Bainbridge Avenue in Fordham Manor on Friday, Jan. 31.

 

There were also no reported injuries following a track fire at Woodlawn Subway Station on the Norwood/Woodlawn border on Jan. 29.

Click here to read FDNY’s fire safety tips. “During a fire, always close the door behind you!” fire officials say. “It helps contain smoke and flames, giving you precious time to escape. Your quick action can make the difference.”

 

Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this story referred to Juanita as a 94-year-old widow. In fact, she is almost 94, but is 93 currently. The story has since been updated to reflect this.