More than two years after a fatal fire at the Twin Parks North West Apartment building in the Fordham Heights section of the Bronx claimed the lives of 17 residents, efforts are underway to enhance fire safety measures throughout the city.

The smoke emanating from the blaze on January 9, 2022, has been deemed one of the city's most severe incidents.

What You Need To Know

  • More than two years after a deadly fire ripped through the Twin Parks North West Apartment building, killing 17 residents, efforts are underway to improve fire safety across the city

  • City Council members on Thursday heard about the steps the city has taken to inspect and better regulate self-closing doors across the city

  • The city’s transportation commissioner helped unveil what the city is calling the nation's first public lithium-ion battery charging station

"The smoke traveled from the third floor throughout the whole building," said Salim Drammeh, president of the Gambian Youth Organization.

Some of the apartment building's self-closing doors didn't close, and as a result, didn't stop the spread of the deadly smoke.

City Council members met Thursday and heard about the steps the city has since taken to inspect and better regulate self-closing doors across the city.

"Whenever at least one self-closing door violation is issued, the housing inspector will post a notice in the public hallway that advises the tenants that [the city's Department of Housing Preservation and Development] is issuing a violation for self-closing doors in the building, explains why and how doors should be self-closing, and encourages the tenants to notify the building owner if they have an issue with their door," said AnnMarie Santiago, deputy commissioner for the Office of Enforcement and Neighborhood Services at HPD.

During Thursday’s joint meeting on fire safety in the aftermath of the Twin Parks tower fire, City Council members also deliberated on three new pieces of legislation. These bills aim to inform tenants of their rights following displacement by a fire and to enhance intergovernmental communication for better assistance to the city’s fire victims.

Months after the fire, the City Council required HPD to select 300 buildings for inspection, and to share fire safety violation data with the FDNY, pursuant to regulations aimed at bolstering fire safety enforcement.

Although the fire was caused by a malfunctioning electric space heater, City Council members argued that more actions are imperative, particularly due to the record-high number of fire-related deaths in 2023, attributable to the surge in fires sparked by lithium-ion batteries used in e-bikes and e-scooters.

"We have many problems in the building to charge the batteries," said delivery worker Sergio Solano. “It's not only one place. It's no place to charge it now."

The proliferation of fires sparked by lithium-ion batteries resulted in over 100 deaths in 2023 alone. Consequently, the city now prohibits the sale of uncertified lithium-ion batteries for e-bikes in the five boroughs.

On Thursday, the city's transportation commissioner joined the FDNY commissioner in unveiling what they term the nation's first public lithium-ion battery charging station, situated in Cooper Square in Manhattan.

"This gives them the opportunity to not have to have it in their home," FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanaugh said. "We hear this so often in our conversations with them in our interviews after fires. They say they have no other choice. We want to stop hearing that. They are able to use this as a choice."

The charging station constitutes the first of five planned locations by the city. It forms part of a six-month pilot program involving an initial 100 delivery workers to assess the effectiveness of charging stations in preventing e-battery fires. These fires are typically caused by e-bikes and e-scooters, which are often stored and charged indoors, contrary to standard safety practices.