![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.norwoodnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2aIMG_0501.jpg\")
<\/a>FIREFIGHTERS ARE SEEN still working at the site of a 5-alarm fire at 660 East 187th Street in the Belmont section of The Bronx at around 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 21, 2026.Photo by S\u00edle Moloney<\/p>\n
Following the deadly 5-alarm fire in the Belmont section of The Bronx on Tuesday afternoon, April 21, as reported<\/a>, that resulted in the deaths of two people and injury to 11 others, Norwood News spoke to some shocked bystanders and residents on the day of the fire to obtain their reaction.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n As reported, an FDNY spokesperson said the department received a 911 call at 1.32 p.m. on Tuesday for a report of fire \/ smoke at 660 East 187th Street, a 5-story, non-fire-proofed, multiple dwelling (50\u00d775) which is around 100 years old and is located between Belmont Avenue and Cambreleng Avenue.<\/p>\n The American Red Cross later said it had registered 23 households, including 24 children and 53 adults (77 total), for emergency assistance such as temporary lodging, disaster health services, and other recovery support following the fire.\u00a0They said the reception center at Crotona International High School is now closed, and any residents who need help with their recovery who have not already connected with the Red Cross should call 1-877-RED CROSS (877-733-2767) and select Option 1.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Meanwhile, NYC Department of Buildings (DOB) has put a Full Vacate Order in place at the building. Read our initial story on the fire in full here.<\/a> Response operations continued well into Tuesday night.<\/p>\n Speaking in Spanish, one local female resident, who declined to be identified and who was standing on the corner of Cambreleng Avenue and East 187th Street on Tuesday evening with other women and some children, observing the ongoing operations by emergency personnel, said the fire had indeed broken out at around 1.30 p.m. Asked if she lived in the affected building, gesturing, she said she did not but lived nearby.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n In reference to the impacted, displaced residents, she said, \u201cThey\u2019ll send them to a hotel, the poor people.\u201d Asked if she had seen anyone injured or trying to escape the fire, the woman said, \u201cOh we didn\u2019t see that, Mami, but people are saying there are two people dead and that they sent one child to the hospital.\u201d Norwood News has no description of the injured due to HIPPA regulations.<\/p>\n The woman added, \u201cWe are known [to the impacted residents of the affected fire building]\u201d she said. \u201cWe go to the same church as them over there. They are our neighbors, countrymen, Mexicans.\u201d Asked if it had been a frightening experience for local children, she said, \u201cYes, for everyone because there were many people crying and choking [on the smoke].\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Eugene Phayre, a bystander, who used to live in Norwood but now lives in Albany, happened to be just visiting Little Italy on the day of the fire on his way to the Botanical Gardens, along with his brother Dennis, and told Norwood News, \u201cWe were just walking on Arthur Avenue and we started to smell smoke, and then we could see it up in the air and we started to move in the direction of where the smoke was coming from.\u201d<\/p>\n He continued, \u201cJust as we arrived at the building, engines were just already starting on the scene, but the fire was very heavily involved and a lot of smoke and there were people trapped on the fire escapes. They had a difficult time rescuing one woman who was quite large and she was on a peculiar spot on the fire escape and they had a difficult time getting the fire truck to rescue her off the fire escape.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Asked what age the woman was approximately, Eugene said, \u201cI would say she was in her mid-forties. Asked if she was alone, he said, \u201cAh she was with a daughter. The daughter was quite hysterical worrying about her mom.\u201d Asked what age was her daughter, Eugene replied, \u201cThe daughter I would say was about 25 approximately, but the fire department did finally\u2026were able to get a truck aligned and they had to break part of a tree to get the bucket in and then they had to lift her.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/a>DEBRIS FROM 660 East 187th Street in the Belmont section of The Bronx is seen on the sidewalk after a fire broke out in the multi-purpose building on Tuesday, April 21, 2026.
Photo by S\u00edle Moloney<\/p>\n<\/a>DEBRIS FROM 660 East 187th Street in the Belmont section of The Bronx is seen on the sidewalk after a fire broke out in the multi-purpose building on Tuesday, April 21, 2026.
Photo by S\u00edle Moloney<\/p>\n<\/a>FIREFIGHTERS ARE SEEN still working at the site of a 5-alarm fire at 660 East 187th Street in the Belmont section of The Bronx at around 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 21, 2026. Pictured is the rear of the building.\u00a0
Photo by S\u00edle Moloney<\/p>\n<\/a>FIREFIGHTERS ARE SEEN still working at the site of a 5-alarm fire at 660 East 187th Street in the Belmont section of The Bronx at around 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 21, 2026. Pictured is the front of the building (behind the trees).\u00a0
Photo by S\u00edle Moloney<\/p>\n