FORDHAM, The Bronx (PIX11) – Fire officials say a car blocking a fire hydrant slowed their response to a deadly fire at a Buddhist temple in the Bronx on Wednesday morning.
Two people were killed when the three-alarm fire tore through the temple at 2064 Anthony Avenue around 6 a.m.
“We did unfortunately have a car parked on the closest fire hydrant," said FDNY Chief of Department John Esposito. "We’ve seen that now a couple of times in the last week throughout the City."
(Credit: FDNY)The fire quickly swallowed the temple and extended to the residence next door, firefighters say.
CitizenApp video from the scene shows what appears to be the top floor of the building, fully engulfed in flames, with its frames exposed.
"We all know that we should not be parking on fire hydrants and when you park on fire hydrants, it slows us down. When we’re fighting a fire, seconds count," said Esposito.
This marks the second deadly fire in a week in which a car was parked in front of a fire hydrant and slowed the FDNY's response.
A representative for the NYPD issued the following statement regarding increased enforcement to combat parking violations.
"The NYPD takes hazardous parking violations seriously as evidenced in the robust enforcement figures. Last year, the NYPD issued over 638,000 parking summonses for blocked fire hydrants Citywide. In the 46th Precinct alone there were 19,449 blocked fire hydrant summonses issued. An increase of 7% from 2023. Last year, the NYPD issued 9,445 parking summonses for blocked fire hydrants within the confines of the 106 precinct – the precinct that encompasses Ozone Park. This is a 10% increase from 2023. The NYPD will continue to address all hazardous parking conditions as the violations are observed by members on patrol."
- NYPD SpokespersonDominique Jack is a digital content producer from Brooklyn with more than five years of experience covering news. She joined PIX11 in 2024. More of her work can be found here.
English (US) ·