New York Fire Officials Believe Safety Doors Failed in Bronx Blaze That Killed 17

Tragic details continue to trickle in about the historic Bronx apartment fire that killed 17 people on Sunday.

On Monday, Daniel Nigro, commissioner of the New York City Fire Department, reported that two malfunctioning doors likely contributed to the severity of the event, according to the Associated Press. The front door of the apartment where the blaze originated and another on the 15th floor failed to close fully, a mechanism that usually helps stem the spread of smoke. It is not clear at this time if this safety feature was disabled on these doors or if they simply failed to function properly.

Officials noted that, while the actual fire was contained to a small area, the spread of smoke throughout the apartment made it difficult or impossible to get out of the building. Some residents were knocked out of the dense clouds of smoke in the building's hallways, with firefighters later recovering them in varying states of cardiac or respiratory arrest.

"It's pretty remarkable that the failure of one door could lead to how many deaths we had here, but that's the reality of it," Glenn Corbett, a fire science professor at John Jay College, told the Associated Press. "That one door played a critical role in allowing the fire to spread and the smoke and heat to spread vertically through the building."

The initial death count for the fire was reported to be 19, but Commissioner Nigro said that there was an error with the counting. Aside from the deaths, dozens of residents were admitted to nearby hospitals with injuries from the fire, with some said to be in critical condition.

Mayor Eric Adams on Monday called the fire an "unspeakable tragedy," but also said that it was "not going to define [the city]." He also called the event a "wakeup call."

"Do proper testing, make sure that complaints are repeated, smoke alarms going off without any real smoke or fire. We need to make sure these systems operate because they save lives, and that is something we want to focus on," Adams said during a Sunday appearance on CNN's New Day.

The fire is currently believed to have been caused by a malfunctioning electric space heater on the third floor. Officials said that the heater was running for a "prolonged period" before it allegedly sparked the blaze. Once the initial flame was lit, it quickly spread to pieces of furniture nearby. The exact malfunction that occurred is still under investigation.