Firefighters continued to tackle thick smoke and flames to seek survivors of the Bronx blaze that killed 17 despite running out of oxygen.
The fire in the high-rise apartment block in New York was one of the worst fires in the city’s history with eight children among those who had lost their lives.
Dozens more residents were taken to hospital after becoming incapacitated by the huge volume of smoke which trapped many in their homes as the fire raged. At least 13 people are in a critical condition.
Firefighters continued making rescues even after their air supplies ran out, according to the city’s mayor.
“Their oxygen tanks were empty, and they still pushed through the smoke,” Mayor Eric Adams said at an early evening press conference.
Adding: “You can’t do this if you don’t feel attached to the city and this community.”
Around 200 firefighters tackled the blaze at the 19-storey building and residents have told of heroics from the emergency services.
Joseph Brannigan, 61, who has terminal cancer and lived on the fifth floor told the New York Post how he was separated from his nephew in the smoke before firefighters came and rescued him.
“Next thing I know, the firemen are dragging me into my apartment,” Brannigan recalled to The Post. “The firemen smashed all the windows and put oxygen on me.”
People were overcome by the fumes as they attempted to escape via the building’s dark stairwells, according to Daniel Nigro, the New York fire commissioner.
Firefighters found victims on every floor, many in cardiac and respiratory arrest, he said. Those who were escorted out were given oxygen, but firefighters continued making rescues even after their air supplies ran out, according to the city’s mayor.
Investigators believe the blaze was started by a malfunctioning portable electric heater. But the scale of the tragedy was blamed on an open door, which allowed smoke to spread throughout the building, blocking escape routes.
Mr Adams said it appeared the door was designed to close automatically.
