'The Bronx is burning again': Major fires in the borough have doubled

Major fires have more than doubled in the Bronx over the past two years, driven by a concerning rise in electrical system problems across the borough’s aging building stock, city officials say.

The Bronx was the site of 27 multi-alarm fires as of May 13 of this year, FDNY Chief John Esposito told city councilmembers at a hearing Monday. Esposito said the figure was a “significant increase” from the 16 multi-alarm fires that occurred over the same time period in 2025, and 12 that ripped through Bronx buildings over that time in 2024.

Hours after his testimony, firefighters responded to another multi-alarm blaze on East 137th Street in Mott Haven late Monday night. Last month, a fire on Bainbridge Avenue in the Fordham section of the borough killed a 1-year-old boy. Another on West Tremont Avenue left one man dead.

The surge in large fires has also fueled a sharp rise in deaths. At least 46 people have died in fatal fires across New York City so far this year, up from 30 deaths over the same time period last year, according to FDNY data.

Esposito said there was not one specific problem driving the surge in blazes — as in the case of e-bike battery explosions in past years — but that electrical systems in buildings often constructed over a century ago were often to blame.

“The causes of the fires are separate, although the predominant cause of fires in the Bronx and throughout the city is related to the electrical system, either in the building or extension cords or power strips or an appliance cord,“ Esposito said.

He said Bronx fires often occur in “six- and seven-story buildings that are over 100 years old.”

At a separate hearing Tuesday, Department of Housing Preservation and Development Commissioner Dina Levy described her agency’s “extreme concern” over the rising number of deadly fires and said officials would investigate whether “landlord noncompliance is a contributing factor.”

Councilmember Pierina Sanchez, who chairs the Council’s housing committee, told Gothamist that Bronx residents are on edge from the recent spate of fires.

“It feels like the Bronx is burning again,” said Sanchez, a Democrat representing West Bronx neighborhoods like Kingsbridge and Morris Heights. “The question for us as policymakers is can we look at ourselves in the mirror and confidently say that we are maximizing our resources and doing everything possible to address these fatal trends?”

Sanchez said neither the city’s housing code enforcement efforts nor its incentives for property owners are addressing electrical systems.

“That is a straight line to building quality,” Sanchez said. “I don’t know that there is a prioritization to this deep failure in electrical systems right now.”

More than 80% of apartment buildings in New York City were constructed at least 50 years ago, and over half were built before 1947, according to a 2023 report by the policy group Citizens Housing and Planning Council.

In a February op-ed for the Bronx Times, Councilmember Amanda Farias also called on the city to focus on electrical system upgrades in older buildings.

“The FDNY is doing everything they can with the resources they have, but they are fighting a losing battle against infrastructure that wasn’t built for the 21st century,” wrote Farias, a Democrat representing East Bronx neighborhoods like Soundview and Parkchester.

Many apartments in the Bronx are rent-stabilized, capping revenue that landlords have on hand to spend on electrical system upgrades. But owners can apply for rent increases through the state’s Major Capital Improvements program if they demonstrate they made significant upgrades to the full building electrical system, or the Individual Apartment Improvement program for unit-specific renovations.

State lawmakers also approved a revised tax break measure known as J-51 that offsets owner costs for upgrades, including to electric systems. But landlord advocates have criticized the benefit for excluding many owners of aging rent-stabilized apartment buildings.

"We are alarmed by the growing number of fires in the Bronx. But we are not surprised," said Kenny Burgos, CEO of the landlord group New York Apartment Association. "When a building is more than 100 years old and rents don’t cover operating expenses, it becomes nearly impossible to run it properly."

At the Council hearing on Monday, Fire Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore said the department has tried to educate tenants about the risks of “overloading” outlets and power strips, or placing space heaters near combustible materials.

Bonsignore said the fire department will also provide free smoke detectors to New Yorkers.

“If you need smoke alarms, we can do that for you,” Bonsignore said. “You can call 311 and say, 'I need smoke alarms.'"

Education efforts work, said Esposito, the chief of department. He cited FDNY warnings about the dangers of e-bike batteries in the wake of multiple deadly blazes and the imperative to close doors to prevent the spread of fires. One person died from a fire sparked by lithium ion batteries last year, compared to six in 2024 and 18 in 2023, according to FDNY data.

“We know that was very effective,” Esposito said. “We saw great results with that.”

The city’s deadliest fire in a generation, a blaze that killed 17 at the Twin Parks North West housing complex in the Bronx in 2022, was sparked by a faulty apartment space heater and spread through open doors leading to a stairwell.

Firefighter unions and several councilmembers, including Joann Ariola, a Queens Republican who chairs the fire and emergency management committee, have called on the city to require five firefighters — up from four — on engines in the companies responding to the highest concentration of fires. The extra firefighter would more quickly stretch the hose and begin spraying water on the blaze, Ariola said.

Supporters of the fifth-firefighter initiative say it would cost about $92 million per year. Mayor Zohran Mamdani did not include money for the effort in his executive budget. The requirement was phased out in 2011 and top FDNY officials say it is not clear the extra firefighter would make a significant difference.

“We would certainly welcome any additional resources,” Esposito told the Council Monday.

But, he added, education and prevention is more important for stopping deadly fires.

“The fires we’re seeing in the Bronx, putting them out quicker, the fifth firefighter is not necessarily a silver bullet to stop those problems,” he said.