A fire yesterday evening in Washington Heights injured nine people after spreading through a six-story apartment building on Fort Washington Avenue. ABC7NY reported that the blaze started just before 9 p.m. near 164th Street and quickly reached the fifth and sixth floors, as well as the building’s cockloft.
The FDNY responded to the fire, which was reported shortly after 8:45 p.m., arriving within four minutes. Firefighters encountered heavy fire conditions on the fourth floor that had spread upward. The response escalated to five alarms, involving 220 firefighters and EMS personnel, according to CBS News. The fire was brought under control after several hours of efforts.
All reported injuries from the incident were minor. The nine victims, including three firefighters and six civilians, were taken to local hospitals for treatment. The fire caused significant damage to several apartments, displacing around six families.
As families begin to recover and the community deals with the damage, the cause of the fire is still under investigation. "The fire caused heavy damage to multiple apartments," the FDNY stated, as cited by CBS News.
