A fire of great proportions in a building in The Bronx, in New York City, left dozens of injuries this Sunday, many of them seriously, so firefighters
fear that there will be "numerous deaths
. "
The Commissioner of the New York Fire Department (FDNY, for its acronym in English), Daniel A. Nigro, indicated that at least 63 injuries have been detected as of noon Sunday, either due to flames or smoke, from the of which 32 were transferred to hospitals with life-threatening injuries.
"
There were people trapped in apartments
all over the building," Nigro recounted, according to NBC News channel 4.
The commissioner called the conditions of the fire and the smoke generated "unprecedented."
Firefighters and first responders assist victims in the aftermath of the 19-story residential building fire. Scott Heins / Getty Images
New York Mayor Eric Adams called it
"one of the worst fires
seen in the recent history of the city" during a press conference this Sunday.
The fire, which has now been brought under control, broke out in a house located on the third floor of a 19-story building on East 181 Street in the West Bronx area.
Firefighters received multiple calls alerting them to the incident around 11 a.m., authorities said, and at least 200 members of the FDNY worked at the scene to quell the flames.
The FDNY commissioner indicated that it is still unknown how the fire originated and that it will be investigated.
"What we do know, and we have warned about this repeatedly, is that
the door of the department was left open
, and that causes the fire to spread," Negri said at a press conference.
The impact of this fire will bring pain and despair to this city "
Eric Adamsn Mayor of New York
Videos released by the Citizen group showed intense plumes of smoke from the bottom of the apartment complex.
"The impact of this fire will bring pain and despair to this city," anticipated the mayor when a higher count of injured was known than was initially estimated.
Authorities say the fire will possibly be the most tragic in New York in the last three decades.
The last one occurred in 1990, when an arson fire at the Happy Land club left 87 people dead.
