NEW YORK (NewsNation Now) — As terrible as it was, the Sunday Bronx fire that killed 17 people, nine of whom were children, is not unprecedented. In fact, Morning in America correspondent Nick Smith reported Monday, the city has a long history of tragic fires.

One of the most severe fires in New York City in more than a quarter of a century happened just four years ago. That fire, also in the Bronx, left 13 people dead, including adults and children. It happened when a child playing with stove burners caused a century-old apartment building to go up in flames.

In 2007, the cord to a space heater in a four-story house, also in the Bronx, overheated and started a fire that killed 10 people, nine of whom were children.

The deadliest fire in New York City was the 1990 Happy Land Social Club Fire, which that killed 87.

In Sunday’s tragedy, the front door of the apartment where the fire started was left open, along with an adjacent stairwell door. As a result, smoke and fire were able to spread throughout the apartment building, especially on the second and third floors.

“Once the fire department got there and they was able to get us out, they said, ‘Follow the stairs until you see light’,” said Nikiya Gonzalez, a resident who was three floors above where the fire began. “My whole house was nothing but black.”

The cause of the fire is believed to be a malfunctioning space heater.

Firefighters found victims trapped in stairwells from every floor of the 19 story apartment building. Of the 60 people who were injured, 13 were in critical condition. Many suffered from smoke inhalation and some suffered from cardiac arrest.

“Some of these firefighters, their oxygen tanks were empty, and they still pushed through the smoke,” said New York Mayor Eric Adams.

Residents were forced to think and act quickly, deciding whether to escape the building through the crowded stairwell or wait it out inside their homes. Some residents reported that false fire alarms went off frequently in that building, which may have been a reason that some didn’t even try to leave. Video from neighbors across the street shows a firefighter cradling a young child while descending a firetruck ladder.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is pledging support for those affected.

“To see it in a mother’s eyes, as I held her, who lost her entire family,” Hochul said, “it’s hard to fathom what they are going through.”

Vanessa L. Gibson, American Red Cross Bronx Borough president, assured survivors that help is on the way.

“The immediate response right now is to get American Red Cross here to do intake, to determine how many households (there are) with adults and children,” Gibson said. “And then we’re going to get food. We’re going to take care of every single resident that lives here … We want to ensure everyone that we will not leave you. This is devastating for all of us.”