1970s South Bronx building fires

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The 1970s South Bronx building fires, often referred to as simply the Bronx fires, were a series of fires that severely damaged the South Bronx and destroyed more than 80% of the buildings in the area. The Bronx fires were the most damaging case of the high rates of fire and arson afflicting cities across America during the 1970s. Most fires were the result of arson, usually caused by landlords recruiting Bronx residents to start them, but the South Bronx fires were not a singular, coordinated event; rather, the fires were the result of multiple socioeconomic factors and trends spanning several decades. These factors included but were not limited to redlining and housing segregation, the economic crises of the 1970s, newly available property insurance programs, poor fiscal management by the city of New York, budget cuts targeted towards poor communities, the overcrowding of already-neglected areas due to gentrification, and many others.

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