A dead body was found in a Bronx apartment building ravaged by a four-alarm fire Friday afternoon, officials said.
The conflagration started around 3 p.m. on the top floor of a six-story apartment building with a cockloft on Sheridan Ave. between E. 172nd St. and Mount Eden Pkwy. and quickly rose to four-alarm status.
First responders found the body in an apartment untouched by the fire as they searched for residents trapped inside the burning building, FDNY Deputy Chief Joseph Duggan said at a press conference at the scene. The death was a “separate incident unrelated to the fire,” Duggan said.
Nine people, including three firefighters and four police officers, sustained minor injuries from smoke inhalation, FDNY Division Chief John Nevins said. The injured service members were treated at local hospitals, while the two injured civilians refused medical assistance, Nevins said.
Firefighters arrived at the scene less than four minutes after the first 911 call, Duggan said. Roughly 170 firefighters and EMS personnel responded to the scene.
Two top-floor apartments were the most severely affected.
“We had to open up the ceilings from below and also from above” to fight the fire, Duggan said. “We cut the roof away to fully extinguish the fire in that area.”
“We evacuated the lower floors, and we called for the Buildings Department to come and assess the structural stability and any other related incidents.”
Fierce winds did not meaningfully impact the fire or FDNY operations, Duggan said.
The fire was under control by 6 p.m.
Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the dead body found at the scene. Fire marshals will determine the cause of the fire.
