Father says his Army son is likely among 12 killed in Bronx fire

A U.S. Army soldier who returned home to New York City for the holidays is feared to be among the dead of an apartment building fire.

The fire began in a first-floor apartment in a Bronx building on Thursday night. According to Mayor Bill de Blasio, it is the worst fire to occur in the city “in at least a quarter-century.”

Mayor de Blasio said the apartment building is believed to be more than a 100 years old and contained defective carbon monoxide and smoke detectors.

28-year-old Emmanuel Mensah’s father says he is missing and does not know where he could be. His father, Kwabena Menzah, 62, said his son was last seen by his roommate as the flames approached the third floor of the building.

“He was telling the roommate to not come out of the apartment because there was smoke. But when they rescued everyone from the windows, we couldn’t find him. I went to four hospitals, I can’t find him,” he told NY Dailey News.

Twelve people have been confirmed dead and twelve rescued by firefighters.  CNN reports the victims who died as smoke and flames quickly spread through the 29-unit apartment building ranged in age from 1 to 63.

Three of the victims were under the age of ten and four of them were children.