Nonfunctional Elevators Impede Responders in Fatal NYC Fire

More than 100 fire and emergency medical services (EMS) personnel responded to a September 3 fire at a 20-story building on East 122^nd Street in East Harlem, NY, but one elevator being out of order and the other failing to work properly forced them to lug heavy equipment up the stairs, NBC New York is among outlets to report. A 72-year-old female resident who lived on the 19^th floor was seriously injured and pronounced dead after being rescued by firefighters and transported by EMS to a hospital. Another wheelchair-bound resident told the source elevators at the high rise had been out of service for two weeks, adding that firefighters could have reached people faster had the units been working. NYC Fire Department Chief Joseph Abbanmonte said it was “very challenging to get up there carrying all the gear up 19 floors and then having to go to work.”