22 people injured including 2 critically in Upper East Side apartment fire

22 people were injured in a fire that erupted in a high-rise in Manhattan.

The fire started around 2 AM on Tuesday on the 24th floor of a 41 story building located on E. 72nd St.

According to the FDNY the fire started from the kitchen of one of the apartments. The couple who lived in the apartment ran out of it but didn’t close the door behind them. As a result, the fire engulfed the hallway where they were escaping and the couple collapsed. If they had closed the door the fire would have been contained to the apartment. Hundred people had to be evacuated from the buildings. 22 people were injured including two critically. Among the people injured was a one week old baby. The fire department is concerned that too many buildings do not have self-closing doors which are required to prevent situations like the one that occurred yesterday.

A similar situation occurred a day earlier in Brooklyn where five people were also hospitalized after a fire broke out in a Brooklyn apartment building located on 24th Avenue between Benson and Bath in Bensonhurst. Two of the victims were seriously injured. One was critically injured. Again the fire started for one apartment and then spread in the hallway after the door was left open. Building residents were awakened by the fire alarms and called 911. Firefighters arrived promptly however the fire could have been contained if the door of the apartment had closed.

Another man lost conscious in another Brooklyn fire on Sunday and was rescued by the firefighters. The fire started from some food that was left on the stove in the kitchen and spread to the Sunset Park apartment.

This morning another fire completely destroyed the last floor of an apartment building in the Bronx. One of the firefighter suffered serious injuries and was transported to the hospital. 11 people lost their apartment. the cause of the fire are still being investigated.