What to Know
- An apartment fire on Fifth Avenue near Central Park injured 12 people early Sunday, firefighters said
- Three victims were critically injured, including two young children
- Firefighters said the blaze didn't appear to be suspicious, but also that they didn't hear smoke alarms going off
A fire in a high-rise building near Central Park early Sunday injured 12 people, including two young children, firefighters said.
The blaze broke out around 6:45 a.m. on the 29th floor of a building on Fifth Avenue and Duke Ellington Circle in Harlem, FDNY Deputy Chief Michael Gala said.
Three people were critically hurt, including an adult man and a 6-year-old girl who were in cardiac arrest, Gala said. A 1 1/2-year-old-girl was in respiratory distress.
The fire was contained to one apartment, Gala said. Six of the injured were in that apartment and six were neighbors.
Firefighters arrived in less than 4 minutes and forced their way into the apartment, Gala explained. They found two victims in a hallway, removed them, and returned to find six more victims in the apartment.
There was zero visibility with heavy smoke and heat in the apartment, Gala said.
Local
There wasn't an indication that the fire was suspicious, Gala said, but fire marshalls were working to determine the cause.
Firefighters didn't hear a smoke alarm and marshalls would determine whether the apartment had any installed.
The blaze came just hours after another massive residential fire in Queens killed three people and severely injured eight others, police said. An 8-year-old girl and a 6-year-old boy were among the injured.
