A chair caught fire in a sixth-floor apartment at 25 West 68th Street early Monday, drawing a large response from FDNY and resulting in two injuries.
The fire was called in at 6:24 a.m., according to an FDNY spokesman. Twenty units with 78 firefighters responded to he scene, and had the fire under control by 6:58 a.m.
Two civilians were injured in the blaze, but both declined transport to the hospital.
It’s not immediately clear what caused the fire.
Streetview photo of the building.
What is a “chair fire”?
A chair was on fire.
It took 78 firemen to put out a burning chair.
78 firemen to put out a chair fire!? Gee, if I didn’t know better, I’d guess that’s a union job.
I worked for 40 years on the fire department and can answer your concerns about the response. The risk is that the fire in the chair, which likely consists of flammable padding, will quickly spread to other flammable furnishings and materials in the apartment, and quickly involve the entire apartment and possibly beyond.
It takes time to get firefighters, hoses and equipment up six floors, smoke threatens upper floors which are full of residents who may require assistance walking down stairs once smoke permeates the elevator shafts.
Fighting a fire and assisting residents to safety, especially if elevators cannot be used, is extremely labor intensive. Hopefully that helps you understand the reason for a large initial response.
Likely cause of chair fire? Will say it comes down to one word; cigarette. Ok maybe just “smoking”.