At least 38 Injured After Fire Breaks Out on 20th Floor of N.Y.C. High-Rise Apartment Building
At least 38 people were injured in New York City on Saturday morning after a fire broke out on the 20th floor of a Manhattan high-rise apartment building.
The New York City Fire Department reported a "heavy fire condition" in the Midtown residential structure, which was initially reported just before 10:30 a.m., per The New York Times and ABC News.
All 38 people were taken to the hospital. Two of the building's inhabitants were said to be in critical condition, five in "serious condition" and the rest had minor injuries, from what FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanaugh told the outlets. Five firefighters aiding the rescue mission were included in the number of those injured.
"There's likely to be an increase in the number of patients as more and more families come down and are evaluated by EMS," EMS Academy Chief Joseph Pataky told reporters of the unfortunate incident.
Theodore Parisienne/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images
As for the cause of the fire, Kavanaugh said it was determined to be a lithium-ion battery "connected to a micro-mobility device," which have caused over 200 fires in N.Y.C. alone, according to Chief Fire Marshal Dan Flynn.
"The lithium-ion battery adds a different degree when we talk about the fire dynamics of it," FDNY Deputy Assistant Chief Frank Leeb told ABC. "These rooms flash over in just a mere matter of seconds."
Mayor Eric Adams expressed his gratitude for the FDNY in a tweet on Saturday. "Thank you to the women and men of New York's Bravest for their heroic work high above the streets of Manhattan this morning," he wrote.
Thank you to the women and men of New York’s Bravest for their heroic work high above the streets of Manhattan this morning.
As of now, we’re relieved to report that while we have two people in critical condition, there have been no fatalities. https://t.co/wqPqnx4qso— Mayor Eric Adams (@NYCMayor) November 5, 2022
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Apartment resident Riley Jankowski, 23, told The New York Times that when she first smelled smoke, she thought it was from the heat getting turned on. Then she heard the fire trucks and looked out her window and saw the smoke.
Jankowski said she then ran out of her apartment, banging on neighbors' doors and screaming "Fire!"
"I run down the stairs, and as I'm running out the courtyard, the window bursts and glass flies around as I'm on the phone with my mom screaming for my life," she said of the terrifying incident.
During a press briefing on Saturday, Kavanagh commended responders who helped get people out of the burning building, two of whom were saved via rope, propelling down the building with firefighters
"Fire EMS and dispatch did an extraordinary job rescuing a number of civilians," Kavanagh said. "I cannot emphasize enough the extraordinary work of our members this morning in unbelievably dangerous conditions."
