According to the officials from the fire department, more than thirty individuals were injured after a three-alarm fire broke out at an apartment building in Midtown on Saturday. Some of the victims are reportedly in serious and critical condition.
Just before 10:30 in the morning, officials were alerted to the presence of fire and smoke coming from a residential structure located on East 52nd Street. According to the information provided by the fire service, the blaze was brought under control by firefighters approximately one hour later.
As of the early hours of Saturday afternoon, 38 persons had been reported as having been injured, and officials have stated that they anticipate this figure to rise. According to the officials, most of the injuries were minor; nevertheless, two people got injuries that were life-threatening, and five others were gravely injured.
The majority of the people who were harmed in the incident were members of the general public, however, five firefighters also sustained injuries.
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According to Commissioner Laura Kavanagh, the blaze, which started on the 20th level of the building, was started by a lithium-ion battery. Two persons were pulled alive from the burning apartment that served as the starting point for the blaze.
According to Chief Fire Marshal Dan Flynn, the department has attended to roughly 200 fires so far this year “where the source of the fire is a lithium-ion battery for a micro-mobility device.”
At a press conference held on Saturday afternoon, Flynn claimed, “This particular problem, we believe, the occupant was servicing [electronic] bikes in the building and the fire was immediately behind the front door.” Flynn made this statement during the event. At the very least, we were able to retrieve five bicycles from this flat.
A number of people who lived in the building, which had fireproofing protections installed, made their way to the roof, where they were told to remain by the firefighters who responded to the incident. Officials said that other residents were given the instruction to remain inside their apartments.
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