Thomas Tracy – New York Daily News
A raging Bronx fire left two men dead Wednesday morning and heavily damaged a Buddhist temple next door, FDNY officials said.
It was the second time this week a parked vehicle blocked the hydrant closest to a fatal blaze in the city.
The three-alarm fire broke out about 6 a.m. in a single-family home on Anthony Ave. near E. Burnside Ave. and quickly spread to the Buddhist temple next door, FDNY officials said.
Aerial footage of the smoky blaze shows one of the buildings completely consumed by flames.
“This was a very dangerous operation for our firefighters,” FDNY Chief of Department John Esposito said at the scene.
When firefighters arrived, they found a man believed to be in his 40s dead on the second floor of the building where the blaze began, officials said. A man believed to be between 60 and 80 was pulled out of the same building, resuscitated, and rushed to St. Barnabas Hospital, where he died, FDNY officials said.
It took more than 130 firefighters and EMS personnel about two hours to bring the massive blaze under control.
Firefighters had to snake hoses around a red sedan blocking the nearest hydrant, a photo posted on X showed.
“We did unfortunately have a car parked by the closest fire hydrant,” Esposito said. “We’ve seen that a couple of times in the last week or so throughout the city.”
“We all know we should not be parking on fire hydrants,” he added. “Seconds count when fighting a fire and that slows us down.”
FDNY Fire Marshals are working to determine what sparked the fire.
The city’s Department of Buildings was on scene to determine the structural stability of the burned buildings while the Red Cross was rendering aid to displaced residents, Esposito said.
A partial vacate order has been issued to the single-family home where the fire started as the investigation continues, according to city Department of Building records.
Construction on the temple began in August. At the time neighbors complained that the work was being done without permits but the complaint was closed following an inspection of the premises.
In December, the Buildings Department issued a violation after receiving a complaint that more than a dozen people were sleeping in the building’s basement next to the boiler and a hot water heater.
“There are a bunch of people sleeping and staying in a temple at night,” the complaint read. “This temple only has two units but there are actually a bunch of people staying there and living in the basement — around 15 people I have seen.”
The FDNY’s response to a fatal fire in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn on Sunday was slowed by a pair of SUVs blocking the two nearest fire hydrants. A Navy veteran up for a work promotion and planning to buy a house with his wife and family died in the blaze, officials said.
We had two fatalities at a 3-alarm fire in the Bronx Wednesday morning. Our thoughts are with those affected by this fire and we are grateful to our partners in the @redcrossny and @nycemergencymgt for assisting displaced residents.
— FDNY Commissioner Robert S. Tucker (@FDNYFC) February 12, 2025
For the second time in three days, FDNY… pic.twitter.com/3XORTJiSyR
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