NYC apartment fire kills at least 19, including 9 children

The FDNY stated that the fire, which had met the standards of a five-alarm fire, appears to have started around 11 am on Sunday in one of the building's duplex apartments at 333 East 181st Street, just west of Webster Avenue.

Newly sworn-in New York Mayor Eric Adams reacted to the tragic incident: "This is a horrific, horrific, painful moment for the city of New York and the impact of this fire is going to really bring a level of just pain and despair in our city."

"The numbers are horrific," Adams said from the scene of the blaze, citing over 32 people in life-threatening condition at this time. "This is going to be one of the worst fires we have witnessed during modern times in the city of New York."

According to the New York Daily News, The blaze was sparked by a space heater, officials stated. Although the building has functioning heat, it appears that a long spell of temperatures below freezing has prompted some residents to supplement the building's heat with space heaters, not all of which are safe for apartment use.

Officials are comparing Sunday's deadly incident to the shocking March 25, 1990, blaze which killed 87 victims from Honduras's Garifuna community in the Happy Land Social Club arson attack.

"That is unprecedented in our city. The last time we had a loss of life that may be this horrific was at Happy Land fire over 30 years ago, also here in the Bronx," FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro stated during a press conference.

"This smoke extended the entire height of the building — completely unusual," Nigro continued, describing the smoke inhalation that occurred in the 19-story building in the Tremont section. "Members found victims on every floor, in stairwells, and were taking them out in cardiac and respiratory arrest."