Apartment Fires Attorney in New York, New York
How have defective self-closing doors played a role in New York City apartment fires?
How have defective self-closing doors played a role in New York City apartment fires?
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what one of the first major fires that I
ever got involved in occurred believe it
or not three days after Christmas in
2017 I’ve been doing Fires for a long
time but this was a major major fire it
happened at Prospect Avenue of the Bronx
13 people died 65 people are injured so
what happens when there’s a fire in
apartment and you got to remember New
York City as well as probably all major
old cities they have Old Stock meaning
their apartment buildings are old I mean
that’s what happens they have old
buildings so there’s a a child who
starts a fire in an apartment on the
first floor the fire is started because
the child is able to turn out of the
stove we’ll come to that and discuss
that in a minute on the stove the the
mother had left certain food to be
warmed up it wasn’t on the child was
able to turn on the stove the mother was
actually taking a
shower the fire that the pot goes on
fire
above the stove of wooden cabinets Not
Unusual in apartments in New York City
have a wooden cabinet It’s Not Unusual
at all we buildings that go back 6070
years wood wooden apartment I mean
wooden uh wooden cabinets were the usual
that catches fire so now the mother
comes out of the
shower and there’s a massive fire in the
kitchen she grabs her child runs out the
door so there’s a law an administrative
code regulation in New York City that
requires doors to bring to be self
closing meaning that the mechanism when
you open your door and you go out that
Ste Ste door and these doors are
supposed to be steel closes because of a
spring mechanism if you look on the top
of doors most of us have this air filled
or spring filled mechanism called the
return the return is meaning the door
opens and the door returns that’s why
it’s called the return so the door is
supposed to close all the way and why is
that it’s a safety mechanism because
once that door
closes the fire can be contained within
one apartment so what you learn about
fires is that time is of the essence I
know a lot of other things are time of
the essence but think about a fire for a
minute fire loves oxygen it loves
combustible material and what happens
when it’s in an apartment it spreads the
more time that you can imp heed that
fire from spreading the better chance
you have of the fire department you know
this to me fire men are heroes and women
and you know we’re taught as children
there’s a fire you run out of the
building these men and women run into
the building so you know think about
that for a minute you see a fire and
these guys run in and these women run in
and they do everything they can to save
life they’re Heroes so if the door is
closed and it impedes the fire from
getting out in into the hallway that’s
tremendous that’s a
lifesaving because once he gets into the
hallway
smoke more combustibles paint on the
wall all become flammable what’s ever in
the hallway the paint on the wall but
what really kills most people in a fire
in an apartment building it’s not fire
it’s smoke smoke is the number one thing
that that kills people in apartment not
fire most of the time I’m not going to
say that people don’t get burnt they do
but what is a killer is smoke if you can
contain that smoke and the fire in one
apartment I mean even for a minute fire
department can get there knock down the
door or run into it push put the water
on the fire and what they call knock
down the
fire the other circumstance is the door
remains
open smoke pours out smoke Rises this
fire the main fire which was our
Prospect Avenue of the Bronx was on the
first
floor Smoke Gets Out And Fire gets out
into the hallway goes
upstairs fire is and smoke is now
engulfed in the building firemen come in
they try to put it out but now the smoke
and the fire has ascended so the rule
was that that these doors need to be
self-closing for the very reason that it
prevents further damage you’re not going
to prevent the fire that’s already
occurring within the apartment so it’s
not a preventable thing like with the
lithium batteries because you could try
to prevent that a fire recurs for
whatever reason someone knocks over a
candle someone burns stuff on the stove
uh you know whatever if there’s a heater
a heater catches by it because you have
a blanket next to it these are all
things that can cause fires so you’re
not going to prevent the fire within
that apartment but you’re going to
prevent massive injuries and massive
death if that door is
self-closing so New York City required
landlords by code to make sure the doors
in every apartment within a building
self closed now what happens in reality
we’ll talk about
reality yeah have buildings that are 60
years old
you have spring mechanism that barely
work you have Returns on the door that
have become rusted you have doors that
the Saddles either raise or the bottom
of the door becomes old and
warped where the landlords don’t want to
do landlords don’t want to spend money
so instead of fixing it either the door
or the saddle or what the return they
leave it alone so the doors in most
apartments in New York City in
2017 would close halfway 3/4 of the way
so what happened in Prospect Avenue is
the mother runs out of the apartment the
door closes approximately halfway the
Fire gets into the hallway and the Smoke
Gets In throughout the entire building
and unfortunately 13 people died people
were on the you know when the fire
department eventually came they couldn’t
go out the front door they had to go by
the fire escapes people were naked on
the fire escapes because it happened at
four o’clock in the morning the whole
idea for self-closing doors is to
prevent further injury and death in the
building now
unfortunately prior to
2018 when the building department of the
city of New York made an inspection of a
building they went around with a sheet
that sheet listed certain things that
they were supposed to check for they did
not have on their sheets the building
inspectors did not have they had a
checklist a check for checking for self
closing doors after the Prospect Avenue
fire of which I was the lead Council on
represented 13 families who died and 65
people who were injured the city made
sure that the building department
inspectors had on on their checklist to
check every building that they went to
and check the doors to be self closing
as a matter of fact after that fire I
came into my office and made everybody
in my office all my employees go home
and check their doors including mine I
live in an apartment in New York City I
checked my door so the whole point
behind self closing doors is to prevent
further injury and further fire having
said that in
2021 four years after the prospect fire
there’s another major fire on 181st
Street in the
Bronx exact same thing happened fire
there’s actually a heater that started
that fire father comes in it’s in his
little girl’s room sees the fire grabs
his daughter runs out the saddle the
saddle for the door had become warped
the door started to close wouldn’t close
all the way fire got into the hallway
smoke got into the hallway and 17 people
died I represent over a 100 people from
that building by so self closing doors
is a very big thing and the city did at
that time do a decent job of telling
people to check or self closing doors
and matter of fact right around right
after that there were public service
announcements by the fire department
that says if you’re in a fire please
make sure to close the door now there’s
something that’s sort of ridiculous
about that because you’re in a fire I
mean just think for a minute you’re in
your apartment there’s a fire you have a
child you grab your child and you’re
supposed to remember to run out oh I got
to go back and close the door it doesn’t
happen it’s sort of ridiculous they
should make and do more checks and
impose a upon the
landlord to check every single door in
an apartment because as someone who’s
been involved in over probably a hundred
fires fires happen they just do and to
prevent further damage that door has to
close so it’s incumbent upon the
landlord not upon the person whose
apartment is on fire to say and remember
hey I got to go close the door you want
to get out of the apartment that’s what
you want to do you want to save your
life you want to save the life of your
family member not remember to close the
door so while the city has done a better
job since
2018 I mean I’m I’m involved in fires
I’ve involved in fire last week on
Valentine Avenue of the Bronx what
happened person ran out of the apartment
door didn’t close fire got added into
the building five people died I think
there’s 16 people that are injured
basically from smoke and H the answer is
these stealth closing doors are
mandatory in in apartment buildings like
everywhere in New York City but it
should be incumbent upon the landlord to
do it not upon the
tenant
New York, NY personal injury attorney Robert Vilensky talks about how defective self-closing doors play a role in New York City apartment fires. He shares that one of the first major fires he became involved in occurred just three days after Christmas in 2017. Despite his extensive experience handling fires, this incident was particularly devastating. It took place on Prospect Avenue in the Bronx, resulting in 13 deaths and 65 injuries. In older cities like New York, many apartment buildings are decades old, and this fire highlighted the inherent risks in aging infrastructure.
The fire began on the first floor of an apartment when a young child was able to turn on the stove. At the time, the mother was in the shower, and a pot left on the stove caught fire, igniting the wooden cabinets above—a common feature in New York apartments, many of which were built 60–70 years ago. When the mother emerged from the shower, she rescued her child and fled the apartment.
New York City law requires apartment doors to be self-closing, with a spring mechanism known as a “return” that ensures the door automatically shuts. This is a critical safety measure, as a closed door contains the fire within a single unit, delaying its spread and providing the fire department time to respond. Time is crucial in fires: fire consumes oxygen and combustible materials rapidly, while smoke—more than flames—is typically the leading cause of death in apartment fires.
In this case, the apartment door did not fully close due to wear and tear on the mechanism. Consequently, smoke and fire spread into the hallway and throughout the building. When firefighters arrived, the smoke had already engulfed the building, complicating evacuation and rescue efforts. Residents had to use fire escapes, and tragically, 13 people lost their lives.
Prior to 2018, building inspectors did not routinely check self-closing doors during inspections. Following the Prospect Avenue fire, he represented 13 families who had lost loved ones and 65 injured individuals. The city subsequently updated inspection protocols to ensure self-closing doors were checked in every building. He personally instructed his office staff to inspect their own apartment doors to ensure compliance.
In 2021, another major fire occurred on 181st Street in the Bronx. A heater ignited a fire in a child’s room, and the door’s warped mechanism prevented it from fully closing. Smoke spread into the hallway, and 17 people died. He represented over 100 people affected by that fire.
These incidents underscore the importance of self-closing doors in apartment buildings. While the city has improved public awareness and inspections since 2018, responsibility ultimately lies with landlords to maintain these doors properly. Tenants should not bear the burden of ensuring doors close during emergencies; the safety of residents depends on properly maintained infrastructure.
Self-closing doors are mandatory in New York City apartment buildings, but effective enforcement and maintenance remain essential to preventing further injury and loss of life.
