A Bronx apartment fire on the morning of September 23 killed one person and hurt ten others, including firefighters, and a neighbor says the same building had a man lighting fires in the hallway for weeks before it happened.
Story Snapshot
- One person died and ten others, including four firefighters, were hurt in a Morris Heights apartment fire.
- Video reportedly shows a man holding a flame in the hallway hours before the blaze broke out.
- A neighbor told News 12 the man had been lighting things on fire in the building for weeks.
- A 31-year-old man is critically injured after jumping from the building to escape the flames.
- Authorities have not confirmed how the fire started; the cause is under investigation.
Deadly Blaze Tears Through Morris Heights Building
Fire ripped through a six-story apartment building on Montgomery Avenue in the Morris Heights section of the Bronx at about 7:45 a.m., killing one person and injuring ten others, including four firefighters. An unidentified man in his 40s was pronounced dead at the scene. He was found inside the unit where investigators believe the fire started. A 31-year-old man is in critical but stable condition after jumping from the building to escape the flames.
Fire officials described chaos as crews fought the flames while trying to reach trapped residents. Deputy Chief Andrew Holzmaier said one civilian was found on the sidewalk after jumping from a window to escape the fire, and that the flames spread through the common bathroom wet walls, where pipes and electric lines run. Residents were displaced from their homes, and the building suffered heavy damage across multiple apartments during the two-alarm response.
Video Reportedly Captures Man With Flame Before Fire
Investigators are reviewing video that appears to show a man holding a flame in the building’s hallway before the fire broke out. News 12 reported that footage obtained by the outlet shows a man playing with fire in the hallway around 2 a.m., nearly six hours before the blaze erupted. Fire marshals are treating that video as evidence in their investigation into how the fire started.
The New York Post reported that one man was hurt after plunging from a fourth-floor window as flames tore through the building, describing a scene that trapped residents and forced a chaotic escape. That report lines up with other coverage describing a jump from an upper floor during the height of the fire.
Neighbors Say Warning Signs Were Ignored For Weeks
A neighbor told News 12 the man seen in the video had been lighting things on fire inside the building for weeks before the deadly blaze. That claim raises hard questions about whether building management, city agencies, or law enforcement missed chances to stop a dangerous pattern before someone died. For residents living in fear of fire, ignored warnings are not a small detail.
Investigation Continues As Questions Remain
Despite the video and witness accounts, authorities have not said the fire was intentionally set, and no one has been arrested or charged. News 12 reported investigators are treating the scene as a crime scene even though the cause has not been formally declared. Fire investigators note that determining true origin and cause requires scene analysis and testing, not just dramatic video, before any finding becomes official.
Authorities have also not released the identity of the person who died inside the apartment, leaving an open question about who exactly was inside when the fire began. Families in the building now face displacement, injury, and grief while waiting for fire marshals to finish their work.
Sources:
abc7ny.com, youtube.com, bronx.news12.com, nypost.com