New York firefighters battled a fire with "great volumes of smoke" nearly 36 years ago at the same Bronx apartment building that caught fire Sunday, leaving 17 dead -- all from smoke inhalation, officials said.
The March 1986 fire was documented in FDNY's official training publication, WNYF, in which members of the department write about fire incidents, highlighting protocols and training, according to a FDNY spokesperson.
The article said smoke from the 1986 fire was banked down to the floor and engulfed entire hallways, seeping through the bottom of closed apartment doors "creating frightening and in some cases untenable conditions for the occupants inside." Residents who escaped Sunday's fire also reported battling thick smoke as it filled the 19-story building.