A six-year-old boy died and his 32-year-old father was critically injured after a fire broke out in the trash compactor in their Bronx apartment building on Friday afternoon, police sources reported.
Aiden Hayward, 6, apparently succumbed to smoke inhalation after the two-alarm blaze broke out at about 5:18 p.m. on Nov. 5 inside 303 East 135th St., located within the Mitchel Houses public housing complex in Mott Haven.
Approximately 25 Fire Department units and 106 personnel raced to the scene in response to a 911 call about a fire at the location, Fire Department sources said. Upon arrival, they found the fire contained in a trash compactor, emanating heavy smoke that spread through the chute into the building’s upper floors.
While battling the blaze, first responders came across Hayward and his father in a hallway near the trash compactor. Both were unconscious and suffering from smoke inhalation.
Firefighters pulled the victims from the building, and EMS rushed them both to area hospitals. Hayward died a short time later at Harlem Hospital; his father was brought to Lincoln Hospital in critical condition.
The Fire Department said that eight other residents suffered non-life-threatening injuries and were treated at nearby medical centers. Two firefighters who were injured while battling the blaze were also treated at Lincoln Hospital.
The blaze was brought under control at about 7:24 p.m., the Fire Department tweeted. Fire marshals are now investigating the cause of the deadly inferno.
