Fire Destroys Roof and Top Floors of Building on W. 107th St.
A four-alarm fire shot through 201 W. 107th St., located at the corner of Amsterdam Ave. and 107th St. on Dec. 9. Fire marshals are still working to determine what caused the fierce blaze, which strewed debris everywhere and incinerated the building’s roof.
| 09 Dec 2025 | 06:36
A four-alarm blaze essentially melted the roof off of 201 W. 107th St. on Dec. 9, although no serious injuries were reported. (
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A view of 201 W. 107th St. at around 11:30 a.m., roughly one hour after the blaze that engulfed its top floor had been extinguished. (
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Firetrucks essentially shut down a couple blocks of Amsterdam Ave. to deal with the Dec. 9 blaze. (
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Fire wrecked an Upper West Side apartment building on the chilly morning of Tuesday, Dec. 9, with shooting flames essentially incinerating the top of the six-story structure.
The Spirit witnessed stunned onlookers still gazing at 201 W. 107th St. at around 11:30 a.m., roughly an hour after the fire was finally subdued by the FDNY. Responding fire trucks had shut down roughly two blocks of Amsterdam Ave., which the building also sits on, to monitor the site for any lingering embers.
Charred and noxious debris could be seen scattered all over the sidewalk under the building’s facade, blocking access to a local pharmacy, while water from fire hoses was still dripping from what had once been the building’s roof and sixth floor; its eaves had been mostly incinerated, replaced with loose chunks of stone and wood.
The four-alarm blaze reportedly began in the “non-fireproof” building at around 8:20 a.m., with firefighters saying that they responded to the scene within three minutes, which FDNY Chief of Fire Operations Kevin Woods described as “very impressive.”
“Upon arrival, we had heavy fire on the top floor and through the roof,” said Woods at the press conference after the blaze was extinguished. Fire heavily involved three of those four apartments. The fourth apartment and some of the apartments below have heavy damage. We had a heavy collapse of the roof space into the top floor and also of the parapet wall into the street.”
“Our engine companies moved in very aggressively, and did extinguish a tremendous amount of fire, but due to the amount of fire and the structural stability, we had to remove them below that top floor and open up our tower ladders,” FDNY Chief of Fire Operations Kevin Woods added. “These are large caliber streams, able to extinguish that fire.”
“We’re trying to spread salt on the street and sidewalk, many people have already took falls,” Woods said. “[Water from] the hose line starts to freeze on the ground.”
Chief of EMS Paul Miano said that one firefighter was treated for a medical burn injury, while two residents were escorted out of the building for treatment by firefighters and rescue paramedics. He described all injuries as minor, calling the operation—and the quick response time—a testament to “collaboration” between EMS units and firefighters.
Many onlookers lingered across the street well after the blaze had been extinguished, seemingly amazed by the scale of the devastation.
One local resident, who lived up the street, told The Spirit that he had seen coverage of the fire on his phone just after 9 a.m.; his daughter then informed him how close it was, leading him to walk over and witness it in person.
“I always see [fires] like this in the news,” he said. “They’re in the Bronx, in Washington Heights...but I’ve never seen one here. It’s dangerous, there are many families around here.”
Jelfry Herrera, who works in a deli on Amsterdam Ave. (and plays basketball on W. 107th St.), had stepped outside to take a look at the building’s burned-out husk at around 11:30 a.m. He said that he’d never seen anything like it “in real life.”