Citywide statistics show that more people in New York City lost their lives in fires last year than in the past decade.

In 2022, a total of 99 people died due to fires throughout New York City, according to numbers from the FDNY. 

In 2017, which was considered a record-setting year at the time, there were 73 fire deaths in New York City.  

Both 2017 and 2022 share one thing in common – both years were marked by one single fire killing over 12 people. In 2017, 13 people died in the Bronx during an apartment fire on Prospect Avenue, and in 2022, 17 people died in the Bronx during the Twin Parks fire.  

Even if those 17 Twin Parks victims survived, 2022 still would have been the highest fire death toll in 10 years.  

According to the Red Cross, fire responses increased by 20% in the Bronx and 18% in Brooklyn in 2022, and both boroughs saw an increase in fatal fire victims, with 37 in the Bronx and 24 in Brooklyn.  

Battalion Chief Jeffrey Facinelli says he has some idea of what’s causing the increase in the fires citywide.  

“We hear about these lithium-ion battery fires – couple that with the traditionally busy time of the winter and that’s just going to compound the number of fires we’re going to,” said Facinelli.  

In 2020, the FDNY reported electrical fires as the leading cause of fire fatalities