including seven children, were found dead inside. the fire was extinguished and it was terrible. most of i ve been around for 35 years now and this is probably one of the worst fires i ve ever been to. the fire department says the four smoke alarms in the building were not working. question now, why not. it s a public housing building and operated by philadelphia housing authority. a senior vice president for the p.h.a. said the fire detectors were inspected annually, including in may of 2021, when two smoke detectors and two batteries were replaced. officials said the detectors have lithium batteries that last for ten years, but this official said frequently residents in public housing disconnect smoke
lived on the 15th floor. i drop on my knees and start to pray. god please help us help us. reporter: authorities say the five-alarm fire was sparked by a space heater, and the door to that unit somehow did not close. the damage inside now seen in the new images published by dailymail.com. the smoke traveled thhe building. reporter: a ays that all doors on the building are self-closing to help contain smoke and that apartment was last checked in july. how much smoke was there? oh, my god. you can t imagine. a lot of smoke. reporter: the building s owner also says the smoke alarms did work, but residents would sometimes smoke in the stairwells which would set them off this survivor told us they went off so often, the residents would ignore them. that happened the consumer product safety commission estimated portable heaters are involved in about 1,700 fires per year, resulting in about 80 deaths.
about the smoke alarms were they working? reporter: well, kate, officials say there are smoke alarms throughout the building in fact, a resident heard an alarm, saw the smoke, then called for help right away. but tonight still so many questions on what went wrong kate kathy park, thank you. the mayor of new york acknowledging that fire came as the nation is battling covid as well. this week could prove to be one of the most challenging yet. one estimate says 5 million people could be home sick in the coming days possibly crippling critical services now hospitals overwhelmed with patients are struggling to find the staff to care for them sam brock has more reporter: the omicron variant may be spreading at the speed of light but its grip on american workers is slowing down critical services we have over 500 employees throughout baptist health that have come down with covid. reporter: at baptist health in
19-storey apartment complex. it was a five-alarm fire. at one point, 200 firefighters were on scene knocking down flames and rescuing residents. earlier, the fire commissioner described what may have sparked this deadly fire. take aist willen. it started in a malfunctioning electric space heater. that was the cause of the fire. the fire consumed that apartment that is on two floors and part of the hallway. the door to that apartment unfortunately, when the residents left, was left open. it did not close by itself. the smoke spread throughout the building. thus, the tremendous loss of life and other people fighting for their lives. reporter: and the fire commissioner added that there are smoke alarms installed throughout the building. in fact, a resident heard the alarm, saw the smoke and called for help right away, but still so many questions on what went wrong. back to you. thanks so much, kathy park there live for us. we ll have more details on this
their selma process of trying to figure out if they are okay and what hospital they went too. alright alexis mcadams mcadams there on scene in the bronx at this tragic and horrific story they are, thank you alexis we will get back to you, eric. eric: joining us now the captain s representative of the uniform fire officers association that represents new york city s firefighters. it is a 19 story brick and steel building built in 1972. do we know about smoke alarms or building alarms? or sprinklers in this building? to be honest with you, the fire is under investigation as we speak. so i would not be able to discuss that. i know the commissioner also when he was interviewed said the same thing. not one 100% sure of all the particulars about the building. i was not in the building. one of the things the commissioner pointed out in that is the door to one of the apartments the duplex second or third floor where the fire