Several people were injured, some seriously, after a fire broke out in the South Bronx on Elton Avenue on Wednesday evening, April 22, according to the FDNY.

 

A spokesperson for the fire department said the FDNY received a call at 5.48 p.m. on Wednesday for a report of a fire in a commercial building located at 677 Elton Avenue, located between East 153rd Street and East 154th Street, a two-story building (25×100) which incorporates a house of worship which was identified by one resident as a mosque, the Darou Rahmane Masjid.

 

The spokesperson said two civilians incurred serious injuries while three firefighters incurred minor injuries and were transported to area hospitals.

 

The condition and described of the injured was unknown. The spokesperson said 21 units, comprising 79 fire department and emergency management services (EMS) units responded to the scene and the fire was brought under control at 6.49 p.m. The cause is under investigation according to FDNY.

Norwood News spoke to some residents who were standing around the area watching the FDNY operations unfold. Some declined to be interviewed by one woman, Tay, said she had been in the hair salon located next to the building where the fire broke out and was just about to get her hair done.

 

“It was a calm day in the hair-braiding salon right next to the hotel right here,” Tay said. “The smoke started to travel inside and next door to the mosque, which is a prayer area for, you know, Muslim people. The mosque is upstairs and downstairs is a hotel so, you know, they just let people, I guess, go in there for hourly rates or whatever, but next door, where I was, that’s how I got caught by the smoke and everything and I realized….the fire and somebody came out, and told us we had to get out.”

 

Umbrella Hotel Bronx is actually located at 681 Elton Avenue, according to Google and, according to its website, offers “convenient amenities such as a 24-hour front desk, room service, and free WiFi throughout the property.” Police had cordoned off the street but the mosque appears to be located between the hair braiding salon and the hotel.

Norwood News asked how many people were in the hair salon at the time, and Tay said around four. Asked if everyone was ok, she said they were. We asked if she saw flames from the fire and she replied, “Yeah, it was in the back and in the front and the windows starting bustin’ open.” Damage was seen from a distance to both the first and second floors of the building.

 

Asked if she saw anyone trapped inside the building, she said, “Well, the guys were running out and then somebody ran back in to help somebody else, and that’s when the ambulances started to come and help people out of the hotel area.”

 

One person was seen carrying what looked like a plastic-covered mattress over his head through the streets and away from the building where the fire broke out, but it was unclear if he had removed it from the hotel building or not.

 

As we were speaking to some of the residents, one young person who appeared to be around 20 asked if any of the victims were gay. Norwood News said we didn’t have any information in that regard. Before we could ask why he asked the question, he was hushed by some people he was standing beside, and the conversation ended abruptly.

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.