The victims, who died from smoke inhalation, might have made it out of the Belmont building alive<\/a> if their neighbors had closed their doors and choked the oxygen that fed the massive five-alarm fire on Tuesday afternoon.<\/p>\n | ON-DEMAND WEBINAR: AI 101 to 201 \u2014 leveling up practical skills<\/a><\/p>\n Fire officials said the blaze started in a first-floor apartment, then shot up through a stairwell, and spread to other floors.<\/p>\n Fire officials say the door of the apartment where the fire started and the building\u2019s front door were left open.<\/p>\n The victims who died were found in the stairwell.<\/p>\n \u201cDuring this fire, the apartment door to the fire apartment was left open, so the fire, the heat, the smoke, the contaminants spread throughout this building, trapping members in their apartment,\u201d said Kevin Woods, the FDNY\u2019s chief of operations.<\/p>\n Those who did make it out of the burning residence can thank quick-thinking good Samaritans who erected portable ladders outside the Belmont Ave. building to help trapped residents, fire officials said.<\/p>\n \u201dSomebody thought it was a good idea to prop open the front entrance door,\u201d Woods said. \u201cThey thought they were doing the right thing.\u201d<\/p>\n First responders saw multiple people on the roof, fire escape and in windows of the five-story building when they arrived. Firefighters quickly pushed portable ladders up against the building to help trapped residents get down.<\/p>\n \u201cThere were rescues going on at the front of the building and the back of the building,\u201d Woods said.<\/p>\n The blaze fire brought back tragic memories of a fatal Bronx fire in 2022 that killed 17 people,<\/a> including eight children. That Fordham Heights blaze was also spread by oxygen that fed the fire through open, faulty, self-closing doors.<\/p>\n In addition to the two victims who died, Tuesday\u2019s Belmont blaze near E. 187th St. left 11 people injured.<\/p>\n A woman named Ashley, 25, whose father still lives in the building where she grew up, said she doubts he\u2019ll be able to return to his apartment.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re not saying anything. But from the looks of it, we don\u2019t think we will probably ever go in,\u201d she said. \u201cBut when we look inside the window, we do see some sentimental items. It really sucks to see that, not being able to go back in.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n \n Seven Hills firefighters have moved into new private sleeping quarters designed with guidance from University Hospitals Parma Medical Center to improve rest, health and job performance\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n \n The Highway 82 Fire in Brantley County was only 7% contained Sunday as officials warned that wind could drive new evacuations\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n \n The Broward County Fire Rescue lieutenant was arrested and fired after deputies said he assaulted a 65-year-old man during a medical call\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n \n In Oroville, officials say excessive, non-emergency calls are delaying emergency response and pushing the city to consider charging repeat offenders\n <\/p>\n \u00a92026 New York Daily News.![\"US-NEWS-UNIVERSITY-HOSPITALS-HELPS-SEVEN-HILLS-1-PLD.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1777383550_807_.jpeg\")
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