27-year-old Indian journalist dies in fire in Harlem

New York, February 25 : A 27-year-old Indian national has died in a deadly fire incident in New York City.

The deceased was identified as Fazil Khan. The Indian Embassy in New York extended support and said that the embassy is in touch with Khan’s friends and family.

“Saddened to learn about death of 27-year-old Indian national Mr. Fazil Khan in an unfortunate fire incident in Harlem, NY. India in New York is in touch with the late Mr. Fazil Khan’s family & friends. We continue to extend all possible assistance in reparation of his mortal remains to India,” the Indian Embassy in New York posted on X.

According to the Fire Department of New York (FDNY), a lithium-ion battery caused a deadly fire at a Harlem apartment building on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024, as reported by CBS News.

Reportedly, 17 others were injured and dozens of people were displaced.

The raging fire also forced dramatic and rare rope rescues.

One of the neighbors Angie Ratchford said, “People were coming out of the building. The fire is at the top. Side, you see the police coming down with the people, people jumping out the window.”

“Just what I have on me. My phone, my keys and this guy,” said Akil Jones, a resident who escaped the fire with his father, according to CBS News.

To save their lives, the residents of the St. Nicholas Place apartment building were forced to jump or use the fire escape.

According to fire officials, 18 people were rescued. Twelve were rushed to a local hospital and four victims remain in critical condition, CBS News reported.

Following the incident, a full vacate order has been issued by the Department of Buildings and the Red Cross is assisting dozens of people with temporary housing at a school nearby.

Reportedly, “On the third floor, one of the apartment doors was left open where the fire was. The fire was so intense, if you could imagine, flames coming out that door and blocking off the stairwell,” FDNY Chief of Department John Hodgens said.

According to the FDNY, in 2023, lithium-ion batteries caused 267 fires, 150 injuries and 18 deaths in the city.

As of Monday, there have been 24 lithium-ion battery fire investigations and eight injuries so far this year, as reported by CBS News.

Addon from News India Times: Khan studied at the Columbia University School of Journalism according to his profile on Linkedin.com. He was a “data reporter” for the Hechinger Report since September 2022. In his comments about his qualification, Khan wrote – “As a data reporter at The Hechinger Report, I am responsible for gathering and analyzing education data and collaborating with other reporters to expose inequality and examine innovation in education. I am a 2021 graduate of the data journalism program at Columbia Journalism School where I was also chosen as a post-graduate fellow for the school’s Global Migration Project. My career began as a copyeditor at Business Standard, one of India’s leading business dailies, in 2018 and I was working as a correspondent at CNN-News18 in Delhi, India before I moved to New York in 2020 for my graduate degree at Columbia.”

Khan also had a post-graduate degree from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Delhi University.