Four people were injured early Monday when fire broke out on the fourth floor of a 16-story NYCHA tower at the Wagner Houses in East Harlem, sending more than 100 firefighters and medics rushing to the scene before dawn. Two of the injured suffered moderate injuries and two others were hurt less severely, with all four taken to a local hospital.
According to the FDNY, the fire was reported around 12:30 a.m. Monday in Building #3 near Paladino Avenue, as PIX11 reports. It's worth noting that PIX11's own headline described the blaze as a Bronx NYCHA fire, even though the outlet's article identifies the location as the Wagner Houses in East Harlem, Manhattan — a discrepancy that has not been resolved in the available reporting.
Scene at the Fourth Floor
Firefighters found the blaze on the fourth floor of the 16-story building, PIX11's report states. Fire officials said 120 fire and EMS personnel responded to the call, a large-scale deployment for a residential high-rise fire. Crews managed to bring the flames under control by around 2 a.m., roughly ninety minutes after the first units arrived.
Of the four people hurt, two sustained moderate injuries while two others suffered minor injuries, the station's report notes. All four were transported to a local hospital for treatment. Fire officials said investigations into what sparked the blaze are ongoing, and no cause had been determined as of Monday morning.
Not the First Fire at the Complex
This is not the first time flames have struck the sprawling East Harlem housing complex. In October 2023, a fire broke out on the third floor of 70 Paladino Avenue at the Wagner Houses, an incident Patch reported was apparently caused by lithium-ion batteries. That fire caused no injuries and was declared under control at about 7:47 a.m., officials said at the time.
Other NYCHA buildings in East Harlem have also seen serious fires in recent years. A separate overnight blaze at the East River Houses injured three people and drew a similarly massive response — 38 FDNY units, including 120 firefighters and medics, according to a Patch report, with that fire brought under control at 3:24 a.m. CBS News also reported on another fire at the Wagner Houses, on First Avenue between 120th and 122nd Streets, that left a child and an adult hospitalized after flames started in a kitchen just before 1 p.m., per CBS News.
No details on what ignited Monday's fire, nor on the identities or conditions of those injured, have been released. Fire officials say the investigation into the cause remains ongoing.
