FATAL MISSTEP

Bronx Dad Says Door Got Stuck Open While He Rescued Daughter in Fire

“It’s very sad. I don’t even remember the door staying open because all I could think about was getting everybody out.”

A third-floor resident of the Bronx apartment where a deadly fire originated on Sunday, eventually killing at least 17, said he didn’t realize that the door he had opened to save his daughter became stuck. The door left ajar allowed smoke, heat, and flames to spread further throughout the 19-story building. But Mamadou Wague, 47, said he hadn’t realized it had gotten stuck until being told about it by fire department officials later. “It’s very sad,” he told the New York Post. “I don’t even remember the door staying open because all I could think about was getting everybody out.” The fire was attributed on Sunday to a faulty space heater in the Wagues’ apartment. The Wague patriarch said he thought he had guided all of his family out of the building when he realized his 8-year-old daughter, Nafisha, was still in her room. He ran back to get her, burning his face during the rescue. He added he thought the door had shut behind him but said that when it was pushed “all the way to the edge,” it didn’t automatically close like it was supposed to. Whether the safety door, which is supposed to be self-closing, malfunctioned is at the heart of an ongoing investigation by authorities.