- A fire in an apartment building in Harlem early Wednesday claimed the lives of six people, including four children, the New York Fire Department said. About a hundred firefighters converged on the building in response to an emergency call at 1:40am (0640 GMT), and traced the blaze to a fifth floor corner apartment.
"Our members aggressively moved in extinguishing the fire. When they reached the two rear bedrooms, they found six occupants of that apartment deceased, four children and two adults," Daniel Nigro, the city's fire department chief, said on Facebook. "As aggressive as the members could be, they were not able to reach those occupants," he said.
He said flames were first spotted coming out of the apartment windows by a neighbor in a building across the street. By the time the firefighters arrived, the "entire apartment" was ablaze, Nigro said, adding that it took over an hour to bring it under control.
Three other people were transported to hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation, a fire department spokesman said. The cause of the fire has not been determined, although it was believed to be accidental, the spokesman said.