A woman and her son were killed when a blaze ravaged their crammed Chinatown apartment early Friday, cops said.
The fire broke out on the fifth floor of the building on Mulberry Street near Bayard Street around 3:50 a.m., with the flames extending to the sixth floor, the FDNY said.
A 52-year-old man — who had an unspecified disability, according to police sources — was found dead inside the apartment, and his 91-year-old mother was rushed to NewYork-Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital, where she too succumbed to her injuries, authorities said.
A firefighter also was injured when he fell through a staircase in the building, FDNY Deputy Assistant Chief Michael Ajello told reporters.
The home was packed with items that made it difficult for Bravest to find the vicims and put out the flames, Ajello said.
“Units were faced with a heavy clutter condition, a large amount of contents in the apartment which both hindered the searches and the advancement of the hose line to extinguish the fire,” the fire chief said.
A grief-stricken family embraced after a fire on Mulberry Street in Manhattan killed two people overnight. William Farrington
FDNY firefighters watched as OCME workers remove the body of a fire victim. William Farrington
It’s not immediately clear whether the fire is being eyed as suspicious. Seth Gottfried
The fire broke out on the fifth floor of a building on Mulberry Street near Bayard Street, and the flames extended to the sixth floor. Seth GottfriedA 67-year-old woman who worked as an overnight home health aide for the male victim reported that she put him to sleep in his room around 3 a.m., police sources said. About 50 minutes later, she found smoke in the apartment and saw the room engulfed in flames, before leaving the building, according to the sources.
Two other civilians were hospitalized with minor injuries, and two firefighters in all were hurt – with one going to Weill Cornell Medical Center with minor burns and another who refused medical attention, according to the FDNY.
“These types of old buildings, when fire gets into the stairway, it can quickly be compromised,” Ajello said. “Couple that with the amount of firefighters we’re putting in the staircases and the weight of their equipment, we have some stability issues on the stairways.
FDNY firefighters from Tower Ladder 13 removed debris from the facade of a building on Mulberry Street. William Farrington
The fire happened slightly before 4 a.m. Friday. Seth Gottfried
A health aide for the male victim fled the building as she saw the fire beginning. Seth Gottfried
FDNY firefighters responded to a fire on Mulberry Street. William Farrington“One of the firefighters fell partially through one of the half-landings, which most of the time in these buildings are made of marble. That caused some minor injuries to that firefighter,” Ajello said.
The fire drew 25 units, with 106 fire personnel, to the scene, the FDNY said.
The fire was placed under control about two hours after it began, according to the FDNY.
Another civilian was hospitalized from the fire with a minor injury. Seth Gottfried
FDNY inspectors sifted through debris on April 15, 2022. William FarringtonThe cause remained under investigation later in the afternoon.
Fire marshals are looking into whether smoke alarms were present in the building, according to Ajello.
Additional reporting by Lee Brown
