Nearly 150 Displaced By Hamilton Heights Fire, Report Says

HAMILTON HEIGHTS, NY — Residents of a Hamilton Heights apartment complex that burned for more than half a day Friday are unable to return home as workers begin to clear extensive damages to the building, a city Department of Buildings spokesman told Patch.

Residents of the 39 apartment units at 565 West 144th Street, located between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue, have been relocated in hotels and shelters by the American Red Cross, a DOB spokesman said. Nearly 150 people — from 56 families — were relocated, the Red Cross told ABC 7.

The building's owners have hired a private contractor to remove the six-story building's roof — which collapsed during the fire — and clear fire-damaged sections of the fifth and sixth floors, the spokesman said. The building is not considered a collapse risk and it will not have to be fully demolished, a DOB spokesman told Patch.

The city Fire Marshall is still investigating the cause of the six-alarm fire which raged for hours Friday, an FDNY spokesman told Patch.

The fire broke out at about 3:15 p.m. Friday afternoon and wasn't placed under control until 8:52 a.m. the next day, according to fire officials. The massive fire eventually triggered a 6-alarm response, meaning more than 200 firefighters helped battle the blaze.

Seven firefighters, one police officer and one civilian were injured during the fire, an FDNY spokesman told Patch. One resident of the building was unaccounted for as firefighters searched the building Friday, but has since been located.

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