CLAREMONT. N.Y. (WPIX)—
A four-alarm fire spread to five houses in the Bronx Sunday evening, injuring four firefighters and hospitalizing another person for smoke inhalation, fire officials said.The blaze first broke out in a home on Findlay Avenue in the Concourse section around 9:20 p.m. and quickly spread to the other homes. The fire became so intense that nearly 200 firefighters were called to the scene to help contain it, authorities said.
PIX News has learned that the man hospitalized for smoke inhalation is former New York Knicks star, Dean Meminger Sr. Found in Meminger's room were multiple crack pipes that, reports say, had been recently used.
Authorities continue to investigate whether or not the pipes belonged to "Dean the Dream," as well as what role the pipes may have played in starting the blaze.
The injuries suffered by the 61-year-old were not considered life threatening. Meminger's son, who goes by the same name, works as the Bronx correspondent for NY1.
Authorities are calling the fire suspicious. The landlord of 1308 Findlay Avenue, Darlene Yates, has a record of building code violations for illegal wall partitions as well as an open citation against her from the Building Department.
"It's a roomy house and there were a whole lot of people in there, more people than I think should have been," resident Gary Rice told PIX News.
Rice estimates that over 20 people were living in the three-story building that was apparently primed for what happened Sunday.
Residents tell PIX News that Yates had failed to install smoke alarms in the units. Two small fires recently broke out in residents' rooms, but no injuries were reported.
At least 45 people are reportedly displaced as a result of Sunday's fire, and many of them have lost everything they own.
"Where am I? In the cold, I'm homeless," said Rice.
The investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing.
