There were no reported injuries reported following a fire in a 28-story, residential building in the Norwood section of The Bronx on Sunday afternoon, FDNY officials said.

 

An FDNY spokesperson said the department received a call at 12.30 p.m. from 3450 Wayne Avenue located between East 210th Street and East Gun Hill Road for a report of a fire, which the FDNY later discovered started on the 25th floor.

 

They said 20 units comprising 78 fire and EMS personnel responded to the scene and no injuries were reported. They said the fire was brought under control at 1.14 p.m. and the cause remains under investigation.

 

One firefighter told us the fire was at the rear of the building, as seen in the attached photo further below taken from East Gun Hill Road. For a short video of the scene, click here.

Several residents, many of whom were working shifts at the nearby hospital, Montefiore Medical Center, located one block away, and some who had small children and pets were seen outside, many in shock. We spoke to several of them. One male resident of the 14th floor said he smelled the smoke a little bit as he and his colleagues were evacuating.

 

“We don’t know what happened,” he said. “We were there in the apartment and we saw the message in the chat group. We have a chat group for the building and it just said to get out of the apartment. There’s a fire alarm and then we are out here so I don’t know what happened.”

 

Asked if he heard a fire alarm going off, the resident said, “Yeah, it was off. Actually, no, there was no ringing. It was just the chat group that we have. We didn’t hear anything. I don’t think anyone was injured. [Inaudible] were knocking on doors [to alert people].” Asked if he knew if there were regular fire drills taking place in the building, he said he didn’t know as he had only recently moved in.

 

Another female resident, Jackie Small, who lives on the 21st floor said, “The alarm was going off and then… I smell smoke and I open my door and the hallway was really… I mean it was full of smoke and I started knocking on neighbors’ doors.” Gesturing to another woman standing close by, Small added, “Most people didn’t answer but this is one of my neighbors. She was on her way out and she told me there was a fire and heard that it was on the 25th floor and that we should really try and get out.”

Small continued, “And so we proceeded to come downstairs, the two of us together.” Asked if there was a lot of smoke, she said, “There was a lot of smoke. I was quite surprised. Even when I got downstairs to the lobby, there was a lot of smoke considering it was on the 25th floor.” Asked if she was scared, she took a deep breath, laughed in relief and said, “I hope everyone is ok.”

 

When asked how he heard about the fire, another young, male resident on the 20th floor who was standing outside the building across the street and who declined to give his name, said, “Just another resident who lives in the building gave me a call to say there’s a fire.” Asked if he had smelled smoke, he shook his head.

 

We asked when he got out if there was a lot of smoke at that point and he said, “Nah, I could smell a little something.” As we were speaking to the resident, he suddenly crouched down and appeared a bit faint. We noticed his eyes were a little bit bloodshot. He said, “Sorry, I’m just a little light-headed.”

 

We offered to get him water but he said he had some in his backpack. “I was trying to get some sleep before this happened,” he said. “I am recovering from a hospital admission.” Asked how long he was out of hospital, he said, “Just last week.” Asked if he had anyone with him, he said, “Not anymore, no. The worst of it is over.”

 

Asked if he got an alert on his phone from the residents’ group chat as others had mentioned, he said, “I just got a call from someone and just got out. I didn’t really check my phone yet.” Asked if he heard an alarm, he said he didn’t. We asked if he had lived in the building a long time and he said one year.  Asked if there were regular fire drills, he said, “I think there’s been at least one.” We asked if the drill had been a success and if everyone was evacuated, he said, “I think so but I’m out of the building a lot.. so.”

 

We spoke to another male resident of the building, Michael Layana, who was with his dog and who said he wasn’t really sure what exactly had happened. “The only reason I know is because there’s a group message between all the different residents,” he said. Asked if there was an alarm sounding, Layana said, “I only heard it.. it was very faint…” He said once the apartment door was opened, he saw that there was smoke in the hallway.

 

Layana added that he also heard his dog howling because he said his dog tended to do that when there are firefighters in the building. “Then, I received a call from my girlfriend,” he said. Asked if he thought he would have heard the alarm if he had been asleep, he said, “No, no, not at all. That’s one of the things that we’re discussing right now in the chat is just like the fact that there was like no system working alarm… only in individual apartments, and even in some cases, those weren’t even working.”

 

He concluded, “Many of us work long hours because we’re residents and some of us have pets inside our apartments.”  We spoke to another female resident, Mariah, and a male resident, Jose, who live on the 18th floor and who own two dogs. Mariah said she heard about the fire online on the Citizens’ App while she was out and quickly returned home. She said she called Jose who was leaving the apartment with the dogs.

 

“He got out with them,” she said. Asked if they were ok, Mariah said, “Yeah, they’re ok. I gave them some water.” Asked if it had been tricky to evacuate with the smoke, she said in part, “I mean, there was a lot of smoke in the hallway. We’re not entirely sure what happened or why the fire started. There was smoke in the hallway on the 18th floor and on the floors below. There was a lot of smoke.” Asked if it was difficult to see through the smoke, Jose said, “Somewhat.”

 

The affected residential building is owned by Montefiore Hospital Housing Section II Inc. according to City records. Later, as residents were re-entering the building, Norwood News asked if we could photograph the damage to the 25th floor. We were denied access.

 

We reached out to Montefiore for comment and a spokesperson responded saying in part, “The FDNY responded to the fire immediately. The small fire is out and there were no injuries. The fire alarm system is tested and inspected on a regular basis in line with NYC Fire and Building code.”

 

We also reached out to the Red Cross and asked if any residents had been displaced. Frederic Klein from the Red Cross of Greater New York later said the organization registered one household comprising three adults and a child for emergency assistance, including financial assistance and temporary lodging.

He further advised that any residents impacted by the fire who need help with their recovery and who have not already connected with the Red Cross should call 1-877-RED CROSS (877-733-2767) and select Option 1.

 

As reported, 14 people were injured after a fire broke out at 2462 Devoe Terrace in Fordham Manor on June 22, prompting a visit to the site the following day by New York City Mayor Eric Adams. Along with Fire Commissioner Ben Tucker and other senior members of the FDNY, the mayor reminded New Yorkers of the dangers of lithium-ion batteries, the suspected cause of the blaze. They urged residents to only use standardized batteries in appliances.

FDNY officials are also reminding drivers not to block fire hydrants to prevent delays connecting fire hoses to hydrants. As reported, two people were killed after a fire engulfed a Buddhist temple on Anthony Avenue in Fordham Heights on Feb. 12, and fire officials said their rescue efforts were hampered by a car parked in front of a fire hydrant across the street from the blaze.

 

City officials are also warning New Yorkers to refrain from illegally opening fire hydrants. They said sprinkler caps are available at local fire houses to facilitate cooling off.

 

To read some of our recent fire-related coverage, click here, here, here, and here,

Click here to read FDNY’s fire safety tips, and here for details of how to keep your home safe. “During a fire, always close the door behind you!” fire officials say. “It helps contain smoke and flames, giving you precious time to escape.”

 

Animal Care Centers of New York City shared the following link for the ASPCA of fire safety tips for animals.