Six Families Displaced By Hamilton Heights Fire, Officials Say

HAMILTON HEIGHTS, NY — Six families were displaced when a two-alarm fire broke out in a Hamilton Heights apartment building Monday, city officials said.

The families — 10 adults and one child — were relocated to a local hotel with assistance from the Red Cross, a spokesman for City Councilman Mark Levine said. Families living on the first four stories of 541 W. 142nd St. — a six-story, 19-unit building located between Broadway and Hamilton Place — were permitted to return to the building after the city Department of Buildings found no structural damage, the spokesman said.

The top two floors of the building suffered fire damage and the rest of the building suffered water damage during the blaze, city officials said. Nobody was injured during the fire, officials said.

The fire started on the top floor of the apartment building shortly after 2:15 p.m., fire officials said. The response was rapidly upgraded to two-alarms, fire officials said. The fire was placed under control around 3:45 p.m., fire officials said. Nobody was hurt during the blaze, fire officials said.

The cause of the fire was ruled an accident sparked by a power strip, according to a city fire marshal investigation.

Heavy plumes of dark smoke were seen shooting from the scene of the fire, according to video shared by local City Councilman Mark Levine.

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