The massive blaze was started by a malfunctioning space heater, fire officials said.
At least eight children and nine adults were killed in a massive, fast-moving blaze at a New York City apartment building, fire officials said Monday.
The victim numbers were revised Monday after a double-count of two victims initially said 19 people had died, nine of them children.
Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said 13 people were "clinging to their lives" in nearby hospitals on Monday, and several are intubated. He braced the community for the possibility of more fatalities.
Meanwhile, donations poured in to help the displaced and homeless from the 19-story high rise.
Officials called Sunday's inferno the city’s worst fire in more than three decades.
Just after 10 a.m., 200 New York firefighters responded to The Bronx fire.
“Firefighters found victims on every floor and were taking them out in cardiac and respiratory arrest,” Nigro said Sunday. “That is unprecedented in our city.”
Nigro said a portable electric space heater in a bedroom caused the deadly blaze. Nigro added that the front door to the apartment where the fire began was left open, causing the flames to spread.
At a press conference on Sunday evening, Governor Kathy Hochul announced that she would include a victim’s compensation fund in her budget which she is currently finalizing. Mayor Eric Adams made it clear that ICE will not be called on any survivor who needs help. The neighborhood where the fire occurred is home to a large population of African immigrants.
One anonymous woman who was rescued from the building told WCBS about what she experienced. "Black, black smoke I could barely see from me to you. Helped the people that were able to come into my house and once the fire department got there and they was able to get us out they said follow the stairs until you see light."
Officials say most of the more than 60 victims were taken to local hospitals, mainly for smoke inhalation.
Help is available by texting 181STFIRE to 692692 or by heading here.
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