Firefighters battled a 5-alarm fire that broke out on Sunday evening in a multiple-unit, high-rise dwelling for eight hours, well into Monday morning, in the Soundview section of The Bronx, managing to contain the blaze to the original building. Seven injuries were reported.

 

According to the FDNY, the department was alerted to reports of a fire which they said broke out in an apartment on the top floor of a six-story building (200 x 100 sq. ft) at 1420 Noble Avenue, by East 174^th Street and the Cross Bronx Expressway at around 7.09 p.m.

 

All hands were asked to respond to what was initially described as a 2-alarm fire, but was later upgraded to a 3-alarm, a 4-alarm and finally to a five-alarm blaze, which comprised 44 fire units and 198 firefighters. An FDNY spokesperson later said the blaze was brought under control at 3.03 a.m.

 

The spokesperson said the seven victims comprised three civilians who incurred minor injuries and refused medical attention, one civilian who incurred a serious injury who refused medical attention, one civilian who incurred a minor injury and was transported to a local hospital for treatment, one firefighter who incurred a serious injury, and one firefighter who incurred a minor injury.

 

Video footage recorded by neighbors and users of the Citizens’ App showed widespread fire and thick, black smoke across the roof / cockloft of the building.

 

During a press conference held sometime between Sunday night and early Monday morning, while firefighters were still battling the blaze, FDNY Principal Chief Operations Officer John Esposito said fire units arrived to the scene in under four minutes. “We discovered fire in the cockloft, which is the area between the top floor ceiling and the underside of the roof. It’s about three or four feet deep.”

 

Esposito added, in part, “The fire was in the cockloft throughout one of the wings of the building, approximately half the building, heavy fire. Our units initially conducted interior operations, tried to extinguish the fire. It turned out to be too much fire. We had partial ceiling and partial roof collapses. We withdrew our units. We’re now using five tower ladders to extinguish the fire. The fire is still not under control.”

 

He continued, “It’s going to be a prolonged operation. After it’s safe, some of the tenants will be allowed to be escorted back in to get some of their valuables.”

 

EMS Commissioner Zach Iscol thanked Esposito and who he described as “the remarkable men and women in the New York City Fire Department.” He continued, “They’re doing incredible work out here, also EMS, and some of the other agencies that we have represented like HPD and DOB. For residents of the building, we’ve set up a service center along with the Red Cross at the Bronx River Parkway Community Center in the Bronx River Parkway Houses and community center there. That’s at 1619 East 174th Street.”

 

 

A 5-ALARM FIRE rages in a residential high-rise building at 1420 Noble Avenue in the Soundview section of The Bronx on Sunday evening, June 11, 2023.
Video courtesy of the Citizens’ App

Iscol continued, “I recommend everybody go there even if you don’t need shelter for tonight. It is important that you register with the Red Cross. That’s the primary mechanism by which we can then feed you the information you need about times you can come back to the building, get access to look to get your personal belongings or any other services and things that you might need.”

 

FDNY Chief Brett Villani later said the department were fortunate to only have incurred the small number of injuries that were incurred. Asked if anyone was injured during the initial outbreak of the fire or if anyone was pulled out, Esposito said, “No, not in the initial stages, no.”

 

Asked if the fire had spread to building next door, Esposito said, “So the fire was contained within the original fire building and to one of the wings of the fire building. Our firefighters were positioned, and through very aggressive firefighting prevented it from extending to the adjacent wing, so it’s contained to one portion of the building.”

 

Asked if the firefighters had rescued anyone from the building, Esposito said, “Not, not initially. People had had gotten themselves out of their apartments.” Asked about the extent of expected water damage, Esposito said, “In the wing where the fire was, all floors are going to suffer water damage.”

 

Asked what the biggest challenge was in fighting the fire, Esposito said, “It’s a tall building, it’s a very big building, so trying to get hose lines to the top-floor to extinguish the fire, to get enough hose lines is very difficult, very time consuming and in this case, the fire had a lot of headway and we weren’t able to keep up with it.”

Esposito concluded saying the building would be further evaluated for any possible defects once it was safe to enter, that the cause would be determined by the Bureau of Fire Investigations, and said, “The fire is not under control yet and it won’t be for a while.”

 

“You can feel the heat,” one onlooker standing on the roof of a nearby building was heard saying on Sunday night, later adding in reference to the firefighters, “They’re trying to get to it, man. I don’t know how these guys are doing it but they’re trying.”

In the same video recorded by a user of the Citizens’ App, it was not immediately clear but it looked as though one of the water hoses burst as water was seen falling down from a height onto the ground below but not in the direction of the fire.

 

*David Greene contributed to this story.