19 Dead, 63 Injured After Apartment Building Fire in the Bronx

At least 19 people were killed and dozens more were injured in New York City on Sunday after a fire broke out at an apartment building in the Bronx.

Firefighters and emergency services were called to the 19 story high rise at 11:00 A.M. local time when the fire reportedly broke out on the 2nd or the 3rd floor. Nineteen people are confirmed dead — some of whom were children — and 63 people were injured, with at least 32 of them taken to hospitals with life-threatening injuries.

FDNY Commissioner Dan Nigro told the media that many of the victims were suffering from severe smoke inhalation, and they were going into cardiac and respiratory arrest when firefighters found them. He called the situation “unprecedented” and added that “We expect there to be numerous fatalities.”

New York City Mayor Eric Adams appeared at the scene as the disaster response unfolded, saying “This is going to be one of the worst fires we have witnessed here in modern times in the city of New York.” Adams later gave a phone interview to CNN’s Fredricka Whitfield, during which he confirmed the number of people dead and injured and said authorities are using a local school building as a staging area for those displaced by the fire.

“The fire marshal is currently doing a thorough investigate to determine the origin of the fire and what took place so that we can learn from it and know what we can do to prevent fires of this magnitude,” Adams said. “We do know that a door was left open, and what happens in cases like that, it allows the smoke to spread in a rapid fashion. It appears as though many who were injured in this case were due smoke inhalation. It is imperative that we close the door.”

Watch above, via CNN.