By Olivia Scheck
DNAinfo News Editor
MORNINGSIDE HEIGHTS — An FDNY investigation into 911 calls that people were trapped inside a burning Morningside Heights homeless shelter because emergency doors were locked found no evidence to support the claims.
Fourteen people, including a 14-year-old girl, were hurt in the early morning fire inside 2720 Broadway, near 105th Street. Several 911 calls from residents claimed they were trapped inside, and witnesses said doors were locked.
Eight firefighters suffered minor injuries while fighting the blaze, FDNY said.
An FDNY spokesman said checks after the fire found all doors unlocked, though one was fitted with a panic bar which had to be pushed before the door would open.
A source said that the push bar may have confused panicked residents trying to flee the flames.
The department confirmed it received several 911 calls of people trapped inside the building Friday morning.
"They had the doors locked, they had the emergency doors locked,' said one resident, whose name was withheld by DNAinfo. She said she spent 15 minutes trying to find an escape route for herself and her 11-year-old son.
"The smoke was so heavy it woke me up. Everybody was trying to find a way out," she said.
Another woman said she was stuck in her 12th floor bathroom with her husband and newborn baby for more than 40 minutes as she waited for firefighters to rescue them.
"The fire doors were locked, we couldn't get out," she said.
"I was calling the FDNY, I was saying you've got to get up here, there are kids up here.
"They had to break through the doors to get us out. My family could have been killed."
The FDNY spokesman said, "We went through to investigate and found no evidence that any doors were locked.
"One, on the 12th floor, had a panic bar and it was fully functional."
A spokesman for Volunteers of America, the national nonprofit organization that runs the homeless shelter, said he could not comment Friday.
The city's Department of Homeless Services said it was working to rehouse displaced residents.
Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer said he was "disturbed" by the initial reports of inaccessible emergency doors, and called on the city to "conduct an immediate investigation of this incident."
"Our thoughts and prayers are with all the families and emergency (personnel) affected by this tragedy," Stringer said in a statement.
The FDNY said the fire started on the ninth floor of the 18-story building just after 6 a.m. Friday and took nearly an hour to get under control.
An FDNY spokesman said firefighters experienced a short delay fighting the blaze because a pipe called a Siamese connection outside the building malfunctioned.
Instead of pumping water into the building's interior, the pipe spilled water onto the sidewalk and street, the spokesman said. Firefighters followed department policy and hooked their hoses into a water source inside the building instead, the spokesman said.
It's not known whether the Siamese connection pipe was broken when firefighters arrived at the scene, or if it was damaged while firefighters fought the blaze, the spokesman said.
FDNY filed a complaint with the Department of Buildings about the broken pipe. A licensed professional will have to fix the pipe and certify with a signed affidavit that it's working properly, the spokesman said.
A fire chief at the scene said two of the injured people were taken to Harlem Hospital, including the 14-year-old girl suffering burns. The second person suffered smoke inhalation. Some witnesses said the teen had to be rescued from the building via FDNY ladder. The other 12 injuries were minor, the Fire Department said.
The cause of the fire was not available Friday.
