Research REPORT SUMMARY Catastrophic Multiple-Death Fires and Explosions in the United States in 2022 A NEW YORK CITY APARTMENT BUILDING FIRE THAT KILLED 17 LEADS THE DEADLIEST FIRES OF THE YEAR, WHICH SAW A NOTABLE INCREASE OVER SIMILAR FIRES THE YEAR BEFORE By Stephen G. Badger NFPA.ORG/CATASTROPHIC Read the complete report on Catastrophic Multiple-Death Fires and Explosions in the United States in 2022. A t 10:55 a.m. on January 9, 2022, New York City firefighters were notified by automatic fire alarms and calls reporting a fire and smoke in a high-rise building in the Bronx. First responders arrived to see fire coming from windows on the third floor and heavy smoke throughout the 19-story, 120-unit apartment building of unprotected ordinary construction. Alarms were sounding and many residents had self-evacuated. Firefighters entered the building to fight the fire and rescue victims. The fire had spread from a space heater to 62 | NFPA JOURNAL * SPRING 2024 PHOTO BY SCOTT HEINS/GETTY IMAGES ERIN CLARK/THE BOSTON GLOBE VIA GETTY IMAGES GUTTER CREDIT PHOTO BY ERIN CLARK/THE BOSTON GLOBE VIA GETTY IMAGEShttp://www.NFPA.ORG/CATASTROPHIC