At least two people died after a fire broke out on multiple floors of an apartment building in the Bronx, according to officials.
The flames erupted around 1:30 p.m. Tuesday at a five-story residential building on East 187th Street between Belmont Avenue and Cambreleng Avenue in the Belmont neighborhood, fire officials said. It wasn’t immediately clear what sparked the fire, but the inferno soon spread to multiple floors of the five-story building.
Part of the roof collapsed and fell onto the sidewalk just after 4:30 p.m.
More than 270 fire and EMS personnel responded to the scene. Two people died as a result of the smoke and flames; both were inside the apartment where the fire started.
There were 11 others injured, with two people suffering serious injuries, officials said. Five firefighters and four residents had minor injuries as well.
The building was evacuated, an official with New York City Emergency Management said.
The Department of Buildings was sending an investigator to look into the blaze. Police and fire officials remained at the scene as well in order to douse the flames.
Officials said multiple streets in the area were closes as a result of the fire.