Smoke spread due to maintenance issue with door, not flames, responsible for tragic deaths in New York apartment fire.
A malfunctioning self-closing door is at the center of an investigation into a devastating fire in New York City’s Bronx borough that resulted in the deaths of 17 people. New York city officials revealed that it was the spread of smoke, not the fire itself, that led to the fatalities. Smoke reportedly filled the building’s corridors and apartments after a door failed to close, potentially due to a maintenance issue, allowing smoke to escape and spread throughout the 19-story structure.
Mayor Eric Adams confirmed that the self-closing door mechanism on the third floor, where the fire originated, will be a focal point of the investigation. “There may have been a maintenance issue with this door, and that is going to be part of the ongoing investigation,” Adams stated. The fire began when a space heater in a bedroom malfunctioned, igniting flames that escalated the tragedy early Sunday morning in the Twin Parks North West building.
