A residential fire that broke out in the Williamsbridge section of The Bronx resulted in no injuries, FDNY officials said.

 

Fire department officials said they received a call at 12.30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 18, for a report of a fire / smoke in a 3-story multiple dwelling (25 x 75) located at 3632 Holland Avenue between East 214th and E 215th Street.

According to FDNY, the fire was on the third floor but several floors of the building appeared to be affected with most windows on one side either shattered or purposefully broken by firefighters.

 

A second alarm was raised in respect of the blaze which resulted in a total of 25 fire units, comprising 106 fire and EMS personnel responding to the incident.

We spoke to Rafael Rodriguez who, along with a crowd of other residents, was standing on the street in front of the burning building. He said he lives next door to the affected building. We asked if his building had been evacuated as well. “No. Actually, I came outside as I saw all the smoke. I was like, ‘Oh my God.’ That’s why I came out but I think maybe there’s still one [person] maybe still inside but I’m not sure as everything seems to be taken care of now.”

 

Asked if he knew his neighbors in the affected building, he said no. He only knew his immediate neighbors in his own building.

We also spoke to another elderly female resident who was also standing on the street outside and who said she was a resident of the affected building where the fire broke out. Declining to be identified, the woman said she had not been home when the fire broke out as she had had a hospital appointment, which she said she later cancelled.

 

Asked which floor she was on, she said the second. Referring to the broken windows, we asked if she already knew how much damage there was to her apartment. She said she didn’t yet know.

Officials from the Red Cross were seen scouting the area. We encouraged the woman to check with them for assistance. Later, Frederic Klein, regional communications manager for the Red Cross of Greater New York, issued a statement, saying, “After the fire on Holland Avenue in the Bronx, the American Red Cross registered three households (13 individuals total – 3 children, 10 adults) for emergency assistance, including temporary lodging and financial assistance.”

 

Klein added, “Our Greater New York Disaster Action Team also provided care items, including blankets, comfort kits, hand warmers, and spare clothes. Any residents affected by this fire who were not able to connect with the Red Cross on scene and who need help with their recovery process can call 877-RED CROSS (877-733-2767).”

 

According to the Red Cross, so far this year in The Bronx, through Jan. 18, the organization has registered 60 households (comprising a total of 196 people – 149 adults and 47 children) for emergency assistance after they were displaced by various disasters in the borough.

We also spoke to some other young neighbors on East 214th Street who declined to be identified about the fire. We asked them if they saw any of the residents of the affected building being evacuated. They said they only saw residents of an adjacent building on East 214th Street being evacuated. Asked if they were kids, one of the young residents said, “I didn’t see kids. I saw two ladies and a guy.” Asked how old they were, she said she estimated them as being in their 30s or 40s. She said she and her friends were not affected.

 

Asked if she had heard from neighbors how the fire had started, she said, “No, we didn’t hear nothing. We just saw the black smoke.” Asked if they looked alarmed, they said, “Of course.. they were terrified! They didn’t know what was happening.” We asked if she could smell the smoke from her building. She said no because they had the windows down.

Asked if there were regular fire drills in her building, the young resident said, “Yes, we do,” adding that everyone evacuated twice a week. In respect of the fire at 3632 Holland Avenue, she concluded, “We’re just happy that nobody got hurt and the firefighters did their job correctly. I give it to them. They did a great job.”

 

Asked if they had arrived quickly, she said, “Quickly and they moved fast.”

 

FDNY officials said the fire was brought under control at 1.55 p.m. and the cause of the fire is under investigation.

Click here to view a very short video of the fire taken by a resident whose asked not to be identified.

 

A memorial event was recently held for 5-year-old Kashmir Marquis, who died following a basement fire at his Barnes Avenue home in Wakefield earlier this month.

 

In the meantime, another fire that broke out at 2700 Marion Avenue in Fordham Manor in the early hours of Jan. 16 resulted in one injury to a firefighter.

 

Deirdre, a hair stylist at Cut of Style on nearby 214th Street said she had difficulty getting to work due to the multitude of fire trucks in the area. Her colleague mentioned that she knew of some Bronxites who were using stoves to heat their apartments as they had not had heat in two weeks.

Meanwhile, Deirdre mentioned that if she plugs in an electrical heater, she puts it on a timer.

 

Visit www.FDNYSmart.org for fire safety recommendations.

 

Editor’s Note: Shout out to Deirdre at Cut of Style hair salon on 709 E 214th Street in Williamsbridge for letting us charge our cell phone! Thank you again! 

In an earlier version of this story, it was stated that all windows on one side of the building were either shattered or purposefully broken by firefighters. In fact, we cannot be certain that all windows were broken but most appeared to be. We apologize for this error.