CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A massive apartment fire in the Bronx in New York has left at least 12 people dead, including a child, and others seriously injured.
The tragedy is resonating with parents across the country and with fire officials in Charlotte who are focused on avoiding a similar catastrophe in our city.
[At least 12 dead in massive apartment fire in the Bronx]
Charlotte Fire Battalion Chief Rob Cannon reacted to the news Friday morning.
"Firefighters all over the country and all over the world are going be watching that incident. It's a very tragic incident," Cannon said.
The five-story building in New York City was more than 100 years old. Channel 9 looked into comparable buildings in Charlotte.
"Well, Charlotte's a newer city and our structures, and generally speaking, (are) newer than what they're dealing with up there," Cannon said.
Most of Charlotte's apartments were constructed under modern building codes, which means renters in our city are protected by sprinkler systems and firewalls.
"It's not so much of an issue here, thankfully for us," Cannon said.
An important lesson for parents is emerging from the ashes in New York: Children need to be taught about fire safety.
New York City Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro revealed at a press conference early Friday that investigators had determined the cause of the fire.
"It started from a young boy, 3 1/2 years old, playing with the burners on the stove," Nigro said.
The mother ran from the apartment with her children and mistakenly left the door open allowing the fire to rapidly spread.
"It took the fire so quickly upstairs, that people had very little time to react," Nigro said.
The Charlotte Fire Department offers extensive fire prevention programs for parents and school children in the city.
Officials said you can schedule a fire safety presentation for your school or community group by contacting the department online.
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