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FDNY officials said they received a call at 00.19 a.m. for a report of a smell of gas at 3485 Bivona Street, a multiple dwelling located between Reeds Mill Lane and Boston Road, which later led to a gas explosion and fire. Boston Secor is one of three public housing developments in the northeast Bronx that are home to nearly 1,600 residents, including nearly 600 seniors, according to City officials.<\/p>\n
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Upon arrival, they discovered a fire on the 15th, 16th and 17th floors in multiple apartments. The 4-alarm fire drew 74 emergency units to the scene comprising 231 fire and EMS personnel. They said 15 patients were counted and one civilian was found deceased upon arrival.<\/p>\n
THE SCENE OUTSIDE the front of Boston Secor Houses NYCHA complex in the Eastchester section of the Bronx Jan. 24, 2026, after an overnight fire. The fire appears to have broken out at the rear of the building which was seen with more damage at least to the exterior. Police said nobody was allowed inside to photograph the interior. Video by Norwood News<\/p>\n
They said one civilian remains in critical condition at Jacobi Medical Center in Morris Park, one civilian refused medical attention, one firefighter with a non-life-threatening injury was transported to Jacobi Medical Center and there were 11\u00a0civilians with non-life-threatening injuries who were also transferred to area hospitals.<\/p>\n
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They said the fire was brought under control at 4.52 a.m. and the cause is under investigation. A visit to the site on Saturday afternoon appeared to show smoke still smoldering from the building on the top level, as residents were seen standing in the cold outside, some with pets, waiting to go back in.<\/p>\n
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Police had blocked off Bivona Street to traffic from Boston Road as a far as far as Reeds Mill Lane as FDNY operations continued at the site. NYC Department of Buildings (DOB) and the NYPD were also at the location.<\/p>\n
Deputy Mayor for Housing & Planning Leila Bozorg later said during a press conference that the building comprises around 150 homes. She thanked the emergency response teams from EMS, FDNY, NYPD, The Red Cross, DOB as well as the property management teams in charge of the building. In response to a question about the renovations, she said she understood gas work had been completed and signed off on but that City officials were still investigating exactly what repair work was still ongoing at the time of the explosion.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n FDNY Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore said FDNY arrived within 5 minutes after getting a call regarding a gas smell on the upper floors. She said around 15 minutes later, as the investigation was ongoing, the explosion occurred and was followed by multiple fires. She said it had been a difficult and cold evening for those involved in fighting the fire and commended all for their efforts.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n FDNY Chief of Department John Esposito said FDNY members were on the 15th and 16th floors when explosion occurred, including some who were in the elevator and were trapped for a short time.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe had severe structural damage on six apartments on each floor,\u201d he said. \u201cWe eventually had fire in five apartments on the 16th floor and five apartments on the 17th floor. It was a very very dangerous operation for our firefighters who performed incredibly on those upper floors, searching and protecting civilian life.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Esposito lamented the death of the sole fatal victim and said he was grateful there weren\u2019t more fatalities. He explained that firefighters had to work hard to get past the fire on the 16th floor before they could get to trapped residents on the 17th floor who were seen at windows. He said due to the explosion, though they train for it, the fire was \u201cnot a routine operation.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Of the other injured victims, an FDNY official said five were serious and eight were minor. EMS Commissioner Zach Iscol said a reception center had opened at nearby Cornerstone Academy. In light of the expected snowstorm on Sunday, Iscol appealed to New Yorkers to practice fire safety, explaining that had the fire broken out during the snowstorm, it would have been a much more complicated response effort.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani along with Congressman George Latimer (NY-16), Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (A.D. 83), State Sen. Jamaal Bailey (S.D. 36) and City Councilman Kevin Riley (C.D. 12) were seen at the reception center on Saturday. Latimer, Heastie, Bailey, Riley later released the attached joint statement together with Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson and Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark.<\/p>\n Norwood News spoke to one resident on Saturday who declined to be identified, and asked him if he could describe what had happened. \u201cI can try but it\u2019s going to be sketchy,\u201d he said, appearing to be still in shock. \u201cTurns out that there was a building explosion and we had to leave and then some went to the hospital, like my father, and some went to the shelter over there.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The resident said his father was 91. Asked how he was doing, the resident said, \u201cHe\u2019s not doing well. I have to get a wheelchair for my father. He\u2019s in the hospital right now, and there\u2019s nothing wrong with him but they have to let him go by 6 o\u2019clock. If they do that, I got problems but you know he has to get a wheelchair because the hospital won\u2019t give him a wheelchair to leave, to go to this shelter or to a hotel. I\u2019ll need to find somewhere to put him so he doesn\u2019t miss his reservation to the hotel.\u201d<\/p>\n The resident commended the Red Cross for their efforts in re-housing people temporarily, saying, \u201cThey\u2019re doing a good job. They\u2019re doing a very good job.\u201d Asked if everyone was being rehoused, he said, \u201cIt turns out also that you can only go [back in] from floors 11 down, when it said 14 before, they changed it to 11.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n He explained that everyone from the eleventh floor down was going back into the building to get their belongings, their medical equipment or medication. \u201cI might be out of luck,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m on the 13th, unlucky 13.\u201d<\/p>\n Another male resident who also declined to be identified and who also appeared to be still in shock explained to Norwood News what he experienced. \u201cIt\u2019s messed up. \u201cPretty much, I was asleep. I woke up and I heard a big loud noise. I woke up clueless. I wasn\u2019t sure if that was what I heard so I heard all the commotion in the hallway and people started banging on the door talking about there\u2019s an explosion in the building, evacuate the building, come out here and get outside and all the fire department, all the lights and stuff outside.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The resident continued, \u201cI take my mom. I walked her out the block. I actually witnessed the whole fire coming out of the window. It\u2019s crazy. I\u2019ve been 41 years and I\u2019ve never seen anything like that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Asked if the whole building was evacuated, the resident said it was. He said he understood the explosion was on the 16th floor. As above, the FDNY are still investigating the origin. The resident said he believed he would be rehoused by the Red Cross but everything was still in flux, adding, \u201cThey\u2019re doing their thing. That\u2019s why we\u2019re out here.\u201d Asked if he was able to go back in and gather some belongings, he held up a small bag and said, \u201cJust this. I got to get to work so I got my uniform, but it\u2019s crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Another man was seen outside with his dog which had a warm cover around him. In the adjacent building to the one that caught fire, a memorial of candles was seen dedicated to a person called Jahmir. It was unclear if it was the fire victim or someone else. Inside, one elevator had been designated for construction workers and one for tenants and numerous NYC Department of Building signs were seen inside and outside, including one April 2025 full stop work order.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Handwritten on the notice were the words \u201cProceed Entire Work Operations.\u201d Around the building was scaffolding making it difficult to actually see the damage to the top rear of the building, where the fire seemed to have been worst. Fallen debris was seen on the grass outside.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n We also spoke to two male residents (at least one of whom was a veteran) in the adjacent building. One said he had lived in the building for 41 years and nothing like this had ever happened before. He appeared to suggest the explosion was due to the repairs. More to follow.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n In the same adjacent building, a woman was seen holding two small dogs by their leads. Their eyes were very red and their coats were blackened. One appeared to have an injured leg. We believe she mentioned they had only been found in the affected building hours later. Another woman said Animal Care Center (ACC) NYC were onsite at the affected fire building and suggested she bring them over there. The first woman explained that the dogs were unable to walk on their own. They looked weak and frightened. More reaction to follow.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_4855-1-1.jpeg\")
<\/a>A RESIDENTIAL FIRE breaks out in a 17-story NYCHA complex, Boston Secor Houses, in the Eastchester section of The Bronx on Saturday morning, Jan. 24, 2025.\u00a0\u00a0
Image courtesy of the Citizens\u2019 App<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Screenshot-2026-01-25-001856-1024x569.png\")
<\/a>FDNY COMMISSIONER LILIANE Bonsignore (at podium) is joined by Deputy Mayor for Housing & Planning Leila Bozorg, EMS Commissioner Zach Iscol and FDNY and other City officials for a press conference at the scene of a residential fire at\u00a0 Boston Secor Houses NYCHA Complex at 3485 Bivona Street in the Eastchester section of The Bronx on Saturday morning, Jan. 24, 2026.\u00a0
Photo courtesy of the FDNY<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Screenshot-2026-01-25-002330.png\")
<\/a>BRONX BOROUGH PRESIDENT Vanessa Gibson, Congressman George Latimer (NY-16), Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (A.D. 83), Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark, State Sen. Jamaal Bailey (S.D. 36), and Councilman Kevin Riley (C.D. 12) release a joint statement on the residential fire that broke out on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, at Boston Secor Houses NYCHA complex in the Eastchester section of The Bronx earlier that morning.\u00a0 \u00a0
Source: Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Screenshot-2026-01-24-232817-1024x781.png\")
<\/a>OVERVIEW OF BOSTON Secor NYCHA complex in the Eastchester section of The Bronx\u00a0
Image courtesy of NYCHA<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Screenshot-2026-01-24-233011-1024x414.png\")
<\/a>A DESCRIPTION OF the buidlings at Boston Secor Houses NYCHA complex in the Eastchester section of The Bronx.\u00a0