A deadly three-alarm blaze at a building in Inwood early Monday morning killed three people and injured several others, police and fire officials said.
The FDNY said it responded to calls about a fire inside a six-story building on Dyckman Street near Broadway in Inwood shortly after midnight. The NYPD said the building has residential and commercial uses.
Fire officials said 63 units responded to the scene, including 192 firefighters and emergency medical personnel. FDNY Chief of Department John Esposito said firefighters encountered a blaze on the first floor, and it “was rapidly extending up the stairs” to the upper floors.
“Our first arriving company arrived three minutes after the call, arrived to find multiple people trying to escape via the fire escapes,” FDNY Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore said at a news conference Monday morning.
Police and fire officials said three people were pronounced dead on the scene. Two of them are women and the other is a man, authorities said. The victims' names have not yet been released.
Bonsignore urged residents to close doors during building fires, to help prevent flames from spreading.
“In this building, the apartments that had the doors closed had very little impact, no fire,” she said. “The apartments that had doors open had more impact, more fire.”
Officials said one firefighter was treated for smoke inhalation, five civilians were transported to the hospital in critical condition, two were transported with moderate injuries and another two people were taken to the hospital with minor injuries.
The fire displaced 30 people from the building, authorities said.
Fire marshals continue to investigate the cause of the blaze. Officials said the fire was under control by around 3 a.m. Monday.
The National Weather Service has issued a special advisory for elevated risk of fire spread throughout the region from late Monday morning into the evening. The agency said the higher risk stems from dry conditions from “fine fuels” like grass, needles and twigs, as well as wind guests and lower humidity levels.
This story is based on preliminary information from police and fire officials and may be updated.
