The Nation - News from July 27, 1987

Desperate calls for help from residents of a burning high-rise apartment building in New York City were ignored and even laughed at by fire dispatchers who mistakenly believed that the blaze was under control, it was reported. The fire at the Schomburg Plaza tower on March 22 killed seven people. A Fire Department investigation found that two dispatchers failed to tell fire officials about people who reported they were trapped, resulting in a 16-minute delay in rescue efforts, the New York Daily News reported. It was not determined whether any of the calls came from people who died.