Four-Alarm Fire Guts Kingsbridge Building, Parked Cars Block Hydrants

A four-alarm fire tore through a six-story apartment building at 3422 DeKalb Avenue in Kingsbridge, injuring two residents and one firefighter and burning for roughly two hours before crews brought it under control. More than 140 firefighters responded to the blaze, which started on the top floor and spread horizontally through the building's cockloft, the concealed void just beneath the roof.

Firefighters with the 15th Battalion arrived to find heavy fire in a top-floor apartment of the non-fireproof multiple dwelling, according to Bronx Times. Crews mounted an aggressive interior attack with a cockloft nozzle and four additional hose lines, while another team cut a trench across the roof with saws and pulled ceiling material to stop the flames from consuming the rest of the building. A cockloft nozzle is a specialized dual-tip attachment that can push roughly 185 gallons of water a minute through a small roof or ceiling opening straight into a concealed void, sparing firefighters from having to enter the space directly, according to Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment. The trench cut, meanwhile, is a defensive tactic that sacrifices a strip of roof to create a firebreak and protect the rest of the structure, according to Firehouse Magazine.

Parked Cars Slowed the Water Supply

FDNY Deputy Assistant Chief Paul Miller said firefighters were delayed reaching water sources because two vehicles were illegally parked at fire hydrants on DeKalb Avenue, forcing crews to maneuver hose lines around them, as reported by CBS News. Summonses were issued for both vehicles and towing was ordered. FDNY officials also said the top floor held century-old, dried-out wood and blown-in insulation packed into the cockloft, which trapped heat and smoke and let the fire race sideways rather than staying contained to one unit.

The vulnerability isn't unique to this building. In non-fireproof multiple dwellings built before modern fire codes were adopted, interior brick dividing walls often stop at the underside of the roof boards, leaving one large, undivided cockloft running the length of the structure, per a training resource cited on Brainscape. That architectural gap is why top-floor fires in older Bronx buildings so frequently escalate into multi-alarm responses; the fire extended throughout the cockloft here before crews could contain it.

Tenants Describe the Scene

Bridgette Delego told the Bronx Times that firefighters worked very hard to extinguish the fire, describing the smoke cloud pouring from the building as dark black and heavy. George Pickkaneo, another resident, said he was heartbroken, explaining that he had recently moved from North Carolina and lost everything he owned, which had still been packed in boxes.

The fire was placed under control at 8:05 a.m. Thursday. FDNY Fire Marshals are now investigating the cause and origin of the blaze, which has not yet been determined.

A Rough Stretch for the DeKalb Avenue Corridor

Firefighters got support during the response from FDNY Recuperation and Care units, which send light-duty personnel to multi-alarm incidents to supply hydration, misting fans and decontamination wipes that reduce operational crews' exposure to carcinogens, per footage from FDNY Fleet Friday. FDNY operates five such units across the city's boroughs.

Thursday's fire is the latest in a string of major incidents on the same block. Earlier in August, FDNY responded to another four-alarm fire nearby that officials suspected was triggered by a lithium-ion battery explosion. In April, a Department of Sanitation collection truck caught fire near 3425 DeKalb Avenue after improperly discarded lithium-ion batteries ignited during compaction, according to the Norwood News; sanitation workers had to dump the trash load so firefighters could put it out.

Statewide, residential structure fires in New York resulted in 14.6 injuries and 1.1 deaths per 1,000 fires in 2023, notably lower than the national averages of 19.7 injuries and 5.8 deaths per 1,000 fires, according to U.S. Fire Administration data. Residents displaced by Thursday's fire may be eligible for emergency lodging, financial assistance and counseling through the American Red Cross Greater New York Region, provided they register within 14 days of the incident. The total number of families seeking longer-term shelter had not been finalized as of Thursday.