An enormous, four-alarm fireplace tore via a Bronx condominium constructing on Wednesday night time, displacing dozens of residents who have been pressured to depart behind their belongings and don’t know when they may be capable to return.
The blaze began round 6:19 p.m. in a constructing on Heath Ave. close to W. 230th St., FDNY officers stated. In complete, 39 residents have been displaced. Two firefighters sustained minor accidents whereas bringing the hearth below management, based on FDNY.
As smoke eaters went door to door checking to make sure all of the residents had exited safely, they made an unsettling discovery — a secret drug lab in an condominium on the third ground, sources stated.
The obvious drug lab just isn’t associated to the hearth, which began on the fourth ground, based on FDNY officers.
Jocelina Molina, 52, returned dwelling from work to her fourth-floor condominium Wednesday night solely to need to evacuate minutes later.
“Like 15 minutes after I got home, my neighbor — she lives across [from] my apartment — she came out with the baby, and she said to me that she called 911, the firefighters were coming,” Molina stated. “She was telling me, like, what happened is that through the bulbs, through the light, there was smoke coming out. So also she said in through the walls, too, like in the ceiling, there was a lot of smoke coming out,” she added.
The scene of a 4-alarm fireplace on Heath Ave. close to W. 230th St. within the Bronx on Jan. 15, 2024. (Julian Roberts-Grmela)
Molina, her husband and youngsters watched firefighters break via their condominium by way of their safety cameras. Though they didn’t see many flames attain their condominium, the home windows have been destroyed, Molina stated.
They and the opposite fire-displaced residents have been put up by the Pink Cross in a lodge for the final two nights. On Friday residents have been nonetheless not sure after they would be capable to return dwelling.
“They don’t allow us to go inside because they say that it’s not safe, and [the] roof can fall, you know. And we’re here waiting,” Molina stated. “Wednesday night we slept in a hotel. Last night, too. And now, today, we are figuring out, like, where we’re gonna sleep today, too. So it’s difficult. The only thing that I could, like, grab was my coat and my phone, and that’s it, you know. But we have, you know, friends and family that have helped us, and we are grateful we are alive.”
Molina and her household stated that the constructing has a historical past {of electrical} points that they consider to be supply of the hearth, a declare echoed by the constructing’s superintendent.
The reason for the hearth continues to be being investigated.
Initially Printed: January 17, 2025 at 6:22 PM EST
