2 Teenagers Slide Down Pipe to Escape Apartment Fire in Manhattan | PEOPLE.com

2022-04-19 07:19:30 By : Mr. Karma You

Two teenagers are injured after escaping an explosive fire that killed one man and critically injured a woman in Manhattan's East Village Thursday, according to the New York City Fire Department.

In smartphone footage captured by a bystander, one of the teens is seen hanging out of a fourth-floor window as thick smoke swells from several nearby windows. Fire is also seen blazing as one manages to catch hold of an exterior pipe. The second teen then makes their way out of the window, hanging on for their life.

As seen in the video, both survivors grip the pipe as bystanders are heard yelling for them to "hold on."

Though the teenagers have not been identified, WABC said the 18-year-old and 13-year-old were treated for smoke inhalation and burns from the fire that broke out around 7:15 a.m. on Avenue D.

"They were about to jump out the window, but everyone kept telling them, 'Hold on! Hold on!' " neighbor Tashaka Owens told the news outlet. "So when they held on, they got onto the side of the pole, and they started sliding down ... and those kids, they made it down."

In a statement provided to PEOPLE, FDNY Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro credited their "youth and athletic prowess" and "their ability to climb out a window and shimmy down a pipe" as a reason the incident "was not even more tragic."

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"These flames, the way they instantly... The fire took hold of this apartment, blew a wall down, caused a fire to spread quickly, blew the windows out of the apartment — that fire was raging," said Nigro. "We arrived in four minutes, and by the time we were there, this fire was already an advance fire."

He addressed the source of the fire and said, "Our Fire Marshals have determined once again that this fire was caused by lithium-ion batteries from an e-bike."

According to Nigro, there were at least seven e-bikes in the apartment when the fire sparked.

"The intensity of this fire was such that it blew the windows out and actually blew a wall down within the apartment on top of the bed in which these teenagers were sleeping," he said.

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Nigro described the fires being caused by lithium-ion batteries as an "alarming trend." He said, "This year we have had 93 fires, more than 70 injuries and now four deaths with another person clinging to life."

When the batteries are "damaged" or "overcharged," Nigro said, they "explode violently." He added that the batteries should not be charged overnight, where anyone is sleeping, or by an exit door. "I would prefer that they're charged outdoors or in an unoccupied space," the commissioner said.

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"This many fires in a year is disturbing to me," Nigro shared. "Going back a few years this did not occur. We all see these electric bikes all around us, so their numbers keep growing in the city. As their numbers grow, the danger will grow."

"The only way we can prevent this loss of life is if we use these properly," Nigro concluded. "Like anything else, use them safely. I urge everyone to understand the potential dangers of e-bike batteries and take this very seriously."

According to WABC, a 32-year-old man was discovered dead in the apartment by firefighters, while a 46-year-old woman was taken to the Cornell burn unit at New York-Presbyterian Hospital.