A man who was engulfed in flames jumped the fourth-floor window of a burning Bronx apartment where firefighters later found another man dead on Sept. 23, officials said. According to a report in the New York Daily News, ring camera video shows firefighters battling heavy flames shooting from the fourth-floor apartment on Montgomery Avenue near West 174th Street in Morris Heights. Fire marshals are still looking into what caused the fire.
The 31-year-old man who jumped out the window was taken to Jacobi Hospital in critical but stable condition, police said. Officials have not identified the man who died inside the apartment. Multiple neighbors told the Daily News that the deceased man was the uncle of the tenant who jumped out of the window and lived there. Five other civilians and four firefighters were also injured in the fire. So far, the Red Cross has helped 65 people left homeless by the fire to find temporary housing, officials said.
Property Owners/Managers’ Responsibilities
In New York City, property owners and managers have a responsibility to maintain residential buildings in a safe condition and address known fire hazards. These responsibilities include taking the necessary steps to protect tenants and visitors from dangerous conditions that can cause fires or increase the risk of injury.
Owners and managers also need to address hazards such as blocked hallways or fire escapes, malfunctioning smoke or carbon monoxide detectors, unsafe electrical conditions, combustible materials, defective fire doors and other violations of fire safety requirements. They are generally responsible for maintaining the building and its fire-safety systems such as smoke detectors and smoke alarms as required by city laws and regulations.
Further, when a property owner/manager receives a complaint about a dangerous condition, they are required to take prompt and appropriate corrective action. Depending on the circumstances, this can include repairing defective equipment, removing hazards, warning tenants, contacting the FDNY, etc.
If the property owner/manager knew or should have known about a dangerous condition and failed to take reasonable steps to correct it, they can be held liable for such failures. Records of complaints, inspections, repairs, violations and communications with the owner or management can be important evidence in determining whether reasonable safety measures were taken.
Importance of Smoke Alarms and Smoke Detectors
Smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors are essential fire safety devices that provide a building’s residents with timely warnings about a fire or dangerous levels of carbon monoxide. In New York City residential buildings, property owners/managers have responsibilities when it comes to the installation and maintenance of required fire-safety equipment.
Properly functioning alarms can give residents valuable time to escape, particularly when a fire occurs at night or produces dangerous smoke before flames are visible. Property owners/managers should promptly address reports of missing, damaged or malfunctioning detectors. When required alarms are absent or defective and a resident is injured in a fire, that failure can become a factor in a personal injury claim.
Contacting an Experienced Lawyer
Whether you have been living as a tenant at a private apartment complex or in a public housing unit (NYCHA) (the Projects), please remember that you have legal rights. If you or a loved one has been injured as a result of dangerous conditions, the very experienced New York personal injury attorneys with the Law Offices of Kenneth A. Wilhelm can help you better understand your legal rights and options and also fight hard to recover just compensation for you. It is in the best interest of injured victims and their families in such cases to contact a very experienced personal injury lawyer before contacting the people responsible for the injuries, and definitely before contacting or communicating with any insurance company, or their lawyers, investigators, or adjusters.
For over 55 years, our skilled attorneys have established a proven track record of assisting injured victims. One of our clients — a hot water burn victim — secured $750,000 in damages and we got $2,250,000 for another hot water burn victim from the property owner and manager. Our firm also obtained a $985,000 settlement out of a $1 million insurance policy for two people who suffered smoke inhalation injuries because the homeowner did not have smoke detectors installed and the $15,000 that was left on the insurance policy was for a person that we did not represent. Another of our clients recovered $2,500,000 due to a faulty space heater. Also, one of our clients obtained a verdict for $43,940,000 and another of our clients got a verdict for $23,500,000, both in medical malpractice cases.
Please contact us TOLL FREE 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-WORK-4-YOU (1-800-967-5496). WE CAN EVEN COME TO YOU. There is no attorneys’ fee unless we recover money for you. We can also help with personal injury cases, negligence cases, motor vehicle accidents, slip-and-fall accidents, trip-and-fall accidents, ceiling collapse cases, lead poisoning, paraplegia cases, quadriplegia cases and medical malpractice cases including, brachial plexus palsy (Erb’s palsy) and cerebral palsy cases in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, or Florida. If you have been seriously injured in any of the 50 U.S. states, please call us and we will try to help you with your case.
Other TOLL FREE phone numbers for us are:
1-800-RADIO-LAW, 1-888-WYPADEK, OR 1-800-LAS-LEYES
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Source:https://www.nydailynews.com/2026/09/23/video-fatal-bronx-apartment-fire-montgomery-avenue-morris-heights/