Investigators sought answers Monday for why safety doors failed to close when fire broke out in a New York high-rise, allowing thick smoke to rise through the tower and kill 17 people, including eight children, in the city's deadliest blaze in more than three decades.
A series of fleeting choices and troubling circumstances sent smoke billowing through a Bronx building, leaving 17 people dead and scores of bereaved survivors.
“It’s pretty remarkable that the failure of one door could lead to how many deaths we had here, but that’s the reality of it," said Glenn Corbett, a fire science professor.