Fire officials are concerned that a lack of self-closing doors, required in all high-rises in the city, helped spread the Upper East Side fire that left nearly two dozen injured, including a 1-week-old boy. NBC New York’s Andrew Siff reports.
What to Know
- Nearly two dozen people were hurt in a fire at an Upper East Side luxury high-rise early Tuesday
- Two of the victims were critically injured; another two were seriously hurt; four firefighters also suffered minor injuries
- A cause of the blaze, which broke out around 2 a.m. on East 72nd Street, remains under investigation
Nearly two dozen people were hurt, two of them critically, following a fire on the 24th floor of a luxury high-rise building on the Upper East Side, according to the FDNY.
Firefighters say the flames at the building on East 72nd Street broke out around 2 a.m. Tuesday. Families were seen at the building's front door, anxiously waiting to hear if the fire was under control, as fire officials took the injured into ambulances on stretchers.
A total of 22 people were hurt, officials said. Four of them were firefighters, who suffered minor injuries. Fourteen civilians also had minor injuries.
The fire started in an apartment's kitchen and spread through the entire floor because the occupants didn't close the door, which is a key lifesaving action in such situations, according to Deputy Chief Joseph Ferrante.
"We had numerous phone calls from apartments above, complaining about smoke, people trapped, all due to the fact that that door was left open," Ferrante said. "Had the door been closed, this would've been a one-apartment, one-room fire."
A cause of the blaze is under investigation.
