Montgomery Avenue fire in Morris Heights kills a resident and injures six others and four
A Wednesday morning fire on Montgomery Avenue in Morris Heights killed a resident and injured 10 people, four of them firefighters. Officials have not determined the cause.
A Wednesday morning fire at a Morris Heights apartment house in the Bronx killed one resident and left 10 other people hurt, four of them firefighters, according to the FDNY.
At about 7:45 a.m., callers told dispatchers that a fourth-floor unit at 1484 Montgomery Avenue was on fire. The six-story building sits between West 174th and West 175th streets. The fire reached two alarms, and officials said about 46 fire and EMS units, roughly 140 responders in all, came to the scene.
Injuries in the Morris Heights fire
One resident was pronounced dead at the scene. Of the injured, six were residents and four were firefighters. All of them went to area hospitals, and one resident remains in critical condition. Officials said none of the firefighters had life-threatening injuries.
FDNY Deputy Chief Andrew Holzmaier said the first crews to arrive found a resident on the sidewalk who had apparently jumped from a window to escape the fire. Officials did not say whether that person is the resident in critical condition.
How the fire spread through the building
Holzmaier said the door to the apartment where the fire began was closed when firefighters reached it. Crews attacked the fire from inside, but it still spread to the apartment next door and to two apartments on the floor above. It also got into the cockloft, the hollow area under the roof above the highest apartments.
According to Holzmaier, the fire traveled mostly through bathroom walls that neighboring units share, where pipes and wiring connect one apartment to the next. Wind was another possible factor. Open windows and doors let a strong draft move through the building from rear to front. “It is possible that the wind assisted in spreading some of the fire,” he said.
Firefighters have the fire under control, and officials said one unit will stay at the building in case it flares up again. The cause has not been determined. The FDNY has not released the name of the resident who died.
Quick answers
Where was the Bronx fire on Sept. 23?
It started in a fourth-floor apartment at 1484 Montgomery Avenue in Morris Heights, between West 174th and West 175th streets.
How many people were hurt in the Morris Heights fire?
One resident died, and 10 people were injured: six residents and four firefighters. Officials said the firefighters' injuries were not life-threatening.
What caused the fire?
The cause has not been determined. Officials said the fire spread mainly through bathroom walls shared by neighboring apartments.
