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<\/a>THE REMAINS OF the burned out building at 374 East 209th Street in the Norwood section of The Bronx is seen on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026 as workers continued recovery efforts. A third body was found later the same day.\u00a0Photo by S\u00edle Moloney<\/p>\n
Following the devastating 5-alarm, fatal fire<\/a> on Wednesday, Aug. 5, at 374 East 209th Street in the Norwood section of The Bronx which killed three people, injured 14 and displaced the entire building, NYC Department of Buildings (DOB) has provided an update on the structural stability of the building as surviving residents wait to access whatever of their belongings remain.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n As reported<\/a>, the FDNY said on Wednesday that the initial explosion which blew out apartment doors, along with heavy fire which eventually spread across three floors of the non-fireproofed building, located between Decatur Avenue and Parkside Place, made rescue and extinguishing efforts more complex. A full vacate order has since been put in place, as\u00a0reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n As reported<\/a>, due to floor collapses, the FDNY worked to shore up the building and make it safe for members to search for additional victims reported missing after the first deceased victim was located on Wednesday. On Friday afternoon, Aug. 7, the FDNY located the body of the second fatal victim within the debris and on Saturday, Aug. 8, the body of the third victim was recovered. Read more here<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Andrew Rudansky, DOB spokesperson, said that DOB forensic engineers were on scene Friday, Aug. 7, where they met with FDNY and representatives of the building\u2019s owners. They said that in addition to the significant floor collapses, the fire had left portions of the building structurally unstable. They said a structural engineer and contractors hired by the building owners started installing temporary structural shoring inside the building on Friday morning to shore up the unstable parts.<\/p>\n 374 East 209th Street, Norwood, Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026, three days after a fatal fire. Video by S\u00edle Moloney<\/p>\n They said this work was necessary so that FDNY could continue recovery operations in additional areas of the building, and so that the contractors could begin clean-up operations. As reported<\/a>, FDNY were back at the scene Saturday, when they recovered the remains of the third victim.<\/p>\n DOB officials said the owner\u2019s engineer told the department on Friday that they were working on a plan so that some of the tenants in apartment lines C, D, and E could temporarily access the building to retrieve belongings. However, they said the owner\u2019s engineer still needed to perform additional work in the building before it is safe enough to start this process.<\/p>\n DOB officials went on to say that once they finished installing the emergency shoring to make the building safe for entry, the building owner\u2019s engineer can submit a request to DOB to partially rescind the Vacate Order, which will allow some of the tenants to temporarily return under the engineer\u2019s supervision to retrieve their belongings.<\/p>\n They said tenants can coordinate this process with the property owner and their representatives, adding that DOB does not have an exact timeline for when the owner\u2019s engineer and contractors will finish the emergency stabilization work, but on Friday, the owner\u2019s engineer indicated that they were hoping to start retrieving the tenants\u2019 belongings early on the week commencing, Aug. 10.<\/p>\n On Saturday,\u00a0Norwood News\u00a0spoke to two displaced residents, a couple, who said they were grateful to get out alive but are living with total uncertainty when it comes to their futures. Shrugging his shoulders, the man estimated to be around 35 and who declined to be identified, said of his future, \u201cThis is all I got,\u201d referring to the clothes he was wearing and the phone he was carrying. Referring to the hotel he\u2019s staying in, he said, \u201cI don\u2019t want to be there. I\u2019d rather be at home.\u201d Deflated, he added, \u201cI don\u2019t have a choice. I got to move forward. Just got to figure it out.\u201d The man said he doesn\u2019t have insurance.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n He added that most of his immediate neighbors got out, except for one, who he believes may be the third body removed Saturday from the building. He said he knew him by a nickname [which\u00a0Norwood News\u00a0is not disclosing pending family notification] and added that he was a middle-aged man. \u201cHe was very nice,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n A sniffer dog & FDNY officials enter 374 E 209th S., Norwood, Bronx, 8\/5\/26 as third body removed. Video by Norwood News<\/p>\n Describing the fire itself, the man said it was just him and his dog who were home when it broke out. \u201cAs soon as I knew it was a fire, me and my dog just got out,\u201d he said, adding that he took the interior stairs because he didn\u2019t think he would be able to manage his dog going down the fire escape. Asked if he saw flames as he exited, he said, \u201cWhen I got to the second floor, Apartment 2A and 2B were on fire.\u201d He added that there was a lot of smoke.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Asked if his other neighbors were ok physically, he said they were. Asked if there had been issues with gas in the building, he said he had smelled gas a few times in the building \u201ca couple of months ago\u2026a year ago\u201d and that they called the FDNY about it and \u201cthey sent somebody\u201d to check it out. \u201cI guess it was fine,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n His partner then said, \u201cI just want to know how I can get assistance after Thursday [the day they have to leave the hotel they have been housed in temporarily by the Red Cross]. I have nowhere to go. I have no family.\u201d She said all her belongings were inside the building still. Other residents are also anxious to enter the building to collect valuables, we were told.\u00a0Norwood News\u00a0has reached out to the FDNY to ask when they think access could be allowed and will share any updates we receive.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Also on Saturday morning, emergency services were reportedly called again to the site of the building for a report of a \u201cmember of service\u201d [we don\u2019t know from which agency yet] with an injured arm. Norwood News has asked EMS for more information and will share same upon receipt.<\/p>\n On Saturday and Sunday, St. Brendan\u2019s Church in Norwood organized a clothing drive for those affected by the fire.<\/p>\n As reported<\/a>, the following GoFundMe page<\/a>, confirmed as valid by GoFundMe officials, is live for anyone who wishes to donate.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Sign up for a free smoke alarm\u00a0here<\/a>. Click\u00a0here<\/a>\u00a0to read FDNY\u2019s fire safety tips. \u201cDuring a fire, always close the door behind you!\u201d fire officials say. \u201cIt helps contain smoke and flames, giving you precious time to escape.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By S\u00cdLE MOLONEY & DAVID GREENE THE REMAINS OF the burned out building at 374 East 209th…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":317476,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[128,9,24,63,129,131,130],"class_list":["post-317475","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-the-bronx","tag-bronx","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-the-bronx","tag-the-bronx-headlines","tag-the-bronx-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317475","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=317475"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317475\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/317476"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=317475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=317475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=317475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a>FIREFIGHTERS ENTER 374 East 209th Street in the Norwood section of The Bronx on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026 to continue recovery efforts. A third body was found later the same day.\u00a0
Photo by S\u00edle Moloney<\/p>\n<\/a>AN FDNY INVESTIGATION unit vehicle is seen near 374 East 209th Street in the Norwood section of The Bronx on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026, as recovery and investigative efforts continue. A third body was found inside the building later the same day.\u00a0
Screenshot by S\u00edle Moloney<\/p>\n<\/a>A SNIFFER DOG, accompanied by FDNY and other specialist workers enter 374 East 209th Street in the Norwood section of The Bronx on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026 to continue recovery efforts. A third body was found later the same day inside the building.\u00a0
Screenshot by S\u00edle Moloney<\/p>\n<\/a>A FLIER FOR a clothing drive for those affected by the fatal fire at 374 East 209th Street in the Norwood section of The Bronx on Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026, is seen outside St. Brendan\u2019s Church on East 207th Street\u00a0 and Perry Avenue in Norwood on Sunday, Aug. 9, 2026.\u00a0
Photo by S\u00edle Moloney<\/p>\n