Ten Injured, Including Firefighters, in Massive Mulberry Street Blaze Last Night [Updated]

Posted on: January 24th, 2020 at 5:00 am by

Photo: FDNY

The three-alarm blaze that engulfed 70 Mulberry Street last night spread quickly, destroying the upper levels of the historic Public School 23. The fire started shortly after 8:45pm on the fourth floor.

Firefighters from Ladder 20 and police from the 5th Precinct were the first responders. More than two hundred fire personnel ultimately arrived to fight the fire, which escalated to five alarm.

Ten people were injured, including nine firefighters and an older man with mobility challenges who was rescued via tower ladder.

The school building was erected in the late-nineteenth century and, in recent years, had become an anchor for Chinatown services. It served as home to community groups like Chinatown Manpower Project (CMP), Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA), United East Athletics Association (UEAA), Chen and Dancers, and the Chinese American Planning Council (CPC).

“I am grateful to all the first responders from Ladder 20 FDNY and the 5th Precinct for your swift action and bravery,” Councilwoman Margaret Chin said in a statement four hours after the fire started. “I look forward to working with you and the Chinatown community to restore what was lost.”

View this post on Instagram

“We’ve been operating at this fire since 8:40 yesterday evening. The fire had eventually escalated to a 5-alarm fire. At the height of the fire, we had about 200 fire and EMS personnel on the scene. The fire originally started on the fourth floor of the building, it spread to the fifth floor and into the roof area. Right now we are operating from the exterior with our tower ladder streams. We have a deep-seated fire in the roof area that is difficult to access. This will be an extended operation. We have a total of eight firefighters injured and one civilian, all non-life-threatening,” says #FDNY Chief of Fire Operations Thomas Richardson, from the scene of the 5-alarm fire at 70 Mulberry Street in Manhattan.

A post shared by FDNY (@fdny) on

Recent Stories

Apply to Girls Prep Today! [Sponsor]

Apply to Girls Prep! Girls Prep Lower East Side is the first tuition-free, all-girls public charter school in Manhattan. We serve girls in pre-kindergarten through 8th grade — and support our alumnae through high school, college and beyond. We’re accepting applications for next school year. Click here to apply before our lottery deadline: April 1st.

Music
Take a Whiff: Chatting Honey-Mustard Power Pop with The Whiffs

The Whiffs are the best kept secret of indie rock. Full stop. You needn’t look further than their punchy throwback style and knack for crafting infectious earworms. At first listen you might think the four-piece hailed from across the pond and another era entirely. Mixing addictive elements of Herman’s Hermits, The Turtles, and The Who. […]

Real Estate
11 Essex Street is Half its Former Self

Nearly two decades of dormancy culminated with the destruction of 11 Essex Street. The writing was on the wall for the 112-year-old tenement, which had been wrapped in a death shroud late last year. As of this week, the demolition is nearing complete; the building has been cut down to half-size. As previously reported, real […]

Real Estate
Two Bridges Developers Vow to Appeal Judgement Halting New Towers

Hours after the State Supreme Court ruled in favor of halting three towers in Two Bridges, the developers collectively announced their plans to appeal. Timeline given is “the near future.” The ruling came down from Judge Arthur Engoron Monday evening, favoring the plaintiffs, the Lower East Side Organized Neighbors, in their lawsuit. He found that […]

TV/Film
Spectrum Debuts New Essex Crossing Store on Grand Street

Essex Crossing wouldn’t be complete without yet another big-box retailer, living up to the shopping mall persona many in the neighborhood always anticipated. The latest to plant a flag is Spectrum, which is sandwiched between Target and Trader Joe’s at The Rollins mixed-use development. Carrying the address of 396 Grand Street, this is the ninth overall […]