A spate of fires in the Bronx and Northern Manhattan has killed at least nine people in the last month. 

According to FDNY data, there were four fatal fires in the Bronx between Jan. 1 and May 12 last year. This year, there have been 12 fatal fires during the same period, and fatal fires are up across the city. 

What You Need To Know

Compared to this time last year, there have been more fatal fires citywide in 2026

Fire experts say when you leave your apartment in the event of a fire, always make sure to close the front door behind you

Self-closing doors are legally required for doors leading into individual apartments and common spaces, but they can break

For those in the Bronx, the fires are more than data points. 

“I’m actually thinking about my daughter and our future here,” said resident Leah James. “Is this a safe space?” 

Residents said they’ve taken notice of the increase in fires and are increasingly worried. 

“I’m like, what’s going on?” said Bronx resident Katherine Dailey. “Every time I turn around, it’s a fire, every couple of blocks.” 

“Oh man, there’s been so many. It’s ridiculous. This is getting out of control,” said another Bronx resident, George Reyes. 

At the end of April, two people were killed in a fast-moving fire on East 187th Street in the Bronx. 

Three others were killed in a fire that started in a grocery store on Third Avenue in the Bronx last week. And just this week, a 1-year-old baby was killed in a fire on Bainbridge Avenue in the Bronx. 

Fire officials say the apartment door was likely left open, causing the fire to spread. 

Glenn Corbett, an associate professor of fire science at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said there seems to be a common trend in the fires. 

“We’ve seen this, that particular problem over and over again because the door becomes — it’s hard to believe — but the door becomes this incredibly important thing in a building for preventing multiple fatalities,” said Corbett. 

He said the number of fatal fires in a short amount of time is likely coincidental, but there are ways residents can protect themselves. 

“The typical recommendations we make to the public is that if the fire occurs in your apartment, certainly you get out, but think positively about closing the door behind you as you leave,” said Corbett. 

Self-closing doors are legally required for doors leading into individual apartments and common spaces, but they can break. 

Corbett said while some doors, especially in commercial buildings, have metal door closers mounted above the door, others have closers built into or attached to the hinges. 

The professor said the best way to check if a door closer works is to open the door and make sure it closes shut. If not, call your superintendent or landlord for a repair. 

“It’s devastating, and it shows a lot, including that there’s a lot of work that we have to do on the issue of fire safety,” said Councilmember Oswald Feliz. “What we have in place right now is clearly not enough.”

Feliz passed a bill in 2022 that strengthened laws surrounding self-closing doors by shortening the amount of time landlords have to fix violations. But he said more should be done to educate residents. 

“Another thing that we’ve been talking about is potentially doing fire safety ads on TV to make sure that we teach people the basics of fire safety, including the importance of having a working smoke alarm,” said Feliz. 

Corbett agreed, saying now is the time to increase education efforts. 

“Now is an excellent time because, to some extent, you and the rest of the media have paid attention to these particular fires in the last few weeks,” said Corbett. “And I think the follow-up to that is to educate the public.”