UPDATE Belmont: FDNY Stresses Door Closing after Fatal Fire as Property Owner’s Role Under Scrutiny

After the fatal fire at 660 East 187th Street in Belmont on Tuesday, April 21, claimed the lives of two people and left residents of the entire building displaced, the FDNY held a second press conference in Belmont on Friday, April 24, to provide an update on their investigation into the 5-alarm blaze. Officials highlighted once again the importance of closing doors in the event of a fire to stop it from spreading, and also confirmed that the two deceased people had been found in the stairwells of the building. Meanwhile, one relative of some of the building’s surviving tenants has raised questions about the responsibility of the property owner following the fire. Read our initial story on the fire here and its aftermath here.

UPDATE Belmont: Two Killed, Multiple Injuries after Residential Fire in 1920s Building on East 187th Street

Two people have died and 11 people were injured in a seemingly terrifying, 5-alarm residential fire in the Little Italy/Belmont section of The Bronx on Tuesday afternoon, April 21, according to the FDNY. Department officials said they believe the fire started on the first floor, though this is still under investigation. The deadly blaze follows another fatal fire in Belmont at 505 East 184th Street on March 26, as reported, in which there was one fatality and nine injuries.