Photo courtesy of Marcos Sierra
A fire broke out in a garbage truck in the Norwood section of The Bronx on Monday morning, April 27. Resident Marcos Sierra who, as reported, previously ran for City Council in District 11, shared the attached photo of the fire which ignited inside an NYC Department of Sanitation (DSNY) truck. “Be careful what you throw out!!” Sierra wrote.
When contacted, Sanitation department officials said a collection truck fire broke out near 3425 Dekalb Avenue, near East 208th and 210th Streets. “Our Sanitation Workers saw smoke while cycling the hopper of the truck,” Vincent Gragnani, DSNY press secretary said. “They called 911, and FDNY responded. As is standard practice during collection truck fires, our Sanitation Workers dumped the load of the truck, and FDNY extinguished the fire.”
Gragnani said FDNY determined that several lithium batteries inside a bag caused the blaze. “We are grateful for NYPD’s prompt response and that no one was hurt,” he added. “We remind New Yorkers that it is illegal, irresponsible, and dangerous to throw any type of lithium batteries into trash or recycling, as they have caused dozens of collection truck fires in recent years, putting our workforce at risk. For more information on proper, legal disposal, visit nyc.gov/batteries.”
As reported, two people died and several others were injured following a 5-alarm fire at 660 East 187th Street in the Belmont section of The Bronx the previous day, Tuesday, April 21. Read more on the fire here and on its aftermath here, including reaction, community organizing to support those impacted, and fundraisers launched.
Read a further follow-up story here which details a second press conference held by the FDNY on the blaze and includes a breakdown of the violations logged with NYC Department of Housing, Preservation & Development (HPD) in respect of the impacted building.
As reported, the FDNY said there were no injuries reported after a residential fire broke out on West 197th Street in the Kingsbridge Heights section of the borough on Tuesday, April 28.
Photo by Síle Moloney
As also reported, according to one resident, there were no injuries reported following a mattress fire in a first floor apartment in a building located at 3560 Olinville Avenue in the Olinville section of The Bronx in the early hours of Thursday, April 30. The resident said it was a small fire in the back of the building and the FDNY arrived and put it out. He said the fire alarm did go off.
Last year, on June 22, former New York City Mayor Eric Adams visited the site of another e-bike fire in the Fordham Manor section of The Bronx in which 15 people were injured. FDNY Bronx Borough Commander Mike Woods said in part at the time, “Lithium-ion batteries produce flammable gasses. They produce toxic gasses. They ignite very violently and rapidly, but they also produce many toxins. They produce hydrogen cyanide, which is extremely deadly and could be fatal in low concentrations.”
For more coverage of some recent and other e-bike fires, click here, here, here, here, here and here, and to read some more on prior legislation passed around e-bike safety, click here.
Click here to read FDNY’s fire safety tips. “During a fire, always close the door behind you!” fire officials say. “It helps contain smoke and flames, giving you precious time to escape.”
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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.