On Cam: Daring Rescue of Woman from 20th-Floor Apartment in Manhattan, New York
A massive fire at a Manhattan high-rise on Saturday left at least 38 people injured and prompted a massive scramble for emergency responders, New York City fire officials said.
The fire at 429 East 52nd Street started around 10:30 a.m. Saturday morning, officials said, when several 911 callers reported seeing flames coming from the 20th floor of the building. The fire soon spread, trapping several people in the building, and WABC-TV New York reported that at least two dozen tenants went to the high-rise’s roof to seek shelter from the flames. At least one woman had to be rescued by firefighters on a zip line hanging above the building.
Of the 38 injured, at least two remained in critical condition as of Sunday morning.
Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh said the fire was caused by a lithium-ion battery powering a “micro-mobile device”, later determined to be an electric bicycle. Chief Fire Marshal Daniel E. Flynn later told The New York Times that at least five electric bikes were found in the unit where the fire started.
Officials said they are working to determine if the owner of the unit caused the inferno.
Lithium-ion batteries remain one of the most common causes of fires in residential buildings, especially in high-rise buildings. Flynn told the Times that about 200 fires have been caused by batteries commonly used in consumer electronics in New York this year alone.
