Midtown, New York residential building fire: Multiple injuries reported

A fire in a residential apartment building on 52nd Street in Midtown, New York, injured at least 38 people according to the New York City Fire Department (FDNY). 

Two of those injured are believed to be in critical condition and five EMS members who responded to the scene have serious injuries, according to NBC. They were taken to a local hospital for treatment. 

Also read: Rapper Aaron Carter, brother of Backstreet Boys’ Nick Carter, dies at 34

The cause of the fire was a lithium-ion battery connected to an electric bike. FDNY Deputy Assistant Chief Frank Leed said: “The lithium-ion battery adds a different degree when we talk about the fire dynamics of it. These rooms flash over in just a mere matter of seconds.”

Dan Flynn, the chief fire marshal, said that someone was repairing e-bikes inside the building and the fire broke out from there. He added that there were nearly 200 fire incidents in 2022 caused by lithium-ion batteries.

“These fires come without warning, and when they do go on fire, they’re so intense that any combustibles in the area will catch fire — so we’ve seen secondary fires,” Flynn told CBS News. “And this isn’t really what we’ve seen traditionally where fires are slow to develop, we’re encountering a fully-developed fire when the fire units are arriving here. So that’s where this differs from what we’ve seen in the past,” he added.

The fire was reported to the FDNY at 10:24 am on Saturday. The call said that the 25th floor of a building on 429 East 52nd Street caught fire. 

Also read:Who was Aaron Carter? Know his age, net worth, songs list

Firefighters responded immediately to the scene and began rescuing people. Fire officials said that they used “live saving rescue ropes” borrowed from two people in the building to carry out the rescue work on an urgent basis.