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BRONX — One man is dead, and 10 others, including firefighters, were hurt in a Bronx, New York fire on Wednesday morning.
The fire broke out at around 7:45 a.m. on Montgomery Avenue, between 174th and 175th streets.
An unidentified man in his 40s was pronounced dead at the scene. He was found inside the unit where the fire is believed to have started.
A 31-year-old man is in critical but stable condition after apparently jumping from the building. When firefighters arrived, they found him on the sidewalk.
“There was one civilian on the sidewalk who they said had jumped out the window to escape the flames,” said Deputy Chief Andrew Holzmaier, FDNY.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, but residents said they have submitted photographic evidence to housing court about their concerns with the 31-year-old resident.
“They went as far in this building as forming a tenant association, and still their complaints went unheard, so we really have to see what happened here,” said NYC Council member Pierina Sanchez.
Four firefighters suffered injuries that were described as non-critical, along with five other civilians.
“I woke up this morning, the building, my apartment was on fire. I just lost my dog. My dog is gone,” said building resident Kathryn Rivera.
Another resident said that she and her children escaped, but her dog also perished.
“I told my kids to get out of the apartment. I tried to get my dog, my dog didn’t make it, he died. And this is the second fire that happened within a matter of two months. The landlord isn’t doing anything about it,” said resident Uneek Valentin. “All of my worldly possessions are gone. I’m glad that me, my children are safe, but we live in fear.”
The fire became serious when firefighters had to open a door to battle the flames.
“The door was closed on arrival. Just through the course of the fire and having to break windows, opening doors, that may have assisted it,” Holzmaier said. “But, most of the extension came from the common bathroom wet walls, where pipes and electric run through. That was mostly the extension of the fire into adjoining and above apartments.”
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