Cardi B told CNN: “I’m extremely proud to be from the Bronx and I have lots of family and friends who live and work there still. So when I heard about the fire and all of the victims, I knew I needed to do something to help. I cannot begin to imagine the pain and anguish that the families of the victims are experiencing, but I hope that not having to worry about the costs associated with burying their loved ones will help as they move forward and heal.”
A fund created by New York City has already raised more than $2.5 million, on top of more than $1.5 million raised through a number of online fundraising campaigns, WNBC reported. Cardi B will work with the official fund set up by New York to help families, and will also help to pay for repatriation expenses since some of the victims will be buried in West Africa, People Magazine reported.
Bronx apartment building fire kills 17. File photo: A Bronx apartment building stands a day after a fire swept through the complex killing 17 people and injuring dozens of others. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
The fire killed 17 people, including eight children, as we previously reported. Fire officials said the fire began in a duplex apartment on the second and third floors of the Bronx building.
The fire was one of the deadliest in New York City in the last three decades, and was likely sparked by a faulty space heater, USA Today reported.
Photos: Cardi B through the years Here are some memorable photos of rapper Cardi B through the years. (Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)
Photos: Cardi B through the years 2015: Cardi B walks the runway for Gypsy Sport at Milk Studios on September 15, 2015, in New York City. (Arun Nevader/Getty Images)
Photos: Cardi B through the years 2016: Hennessy and Cardi B attend the 2016 VH1's Divas Holiday: Unsilent Night at Kings Theatre on December 2, 2016, in New York City. (Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
Photos: Cardi B through the years 2017: Cardi B at the 2017 BET Awards at Microsoft Square on June 25, 2017, in Los Angeles. (Maury Phillips/Getty Images)
Photos: Cardi B through the years 2017: Cardi B attends the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards at The Forum on August 27, 2017, in Inglewood, California. (Christopher Polk/Getty Images)
Photos: Cardi B through the years 2018: Recording artist Cardi B attends the 60th annual Grammy Awards at Madison Square Garden on January 28, 2018, in New York City. (Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)
Photos: Cardi B through the years 2018: Cardi B attends the Heavenly Bodies: Fashion & The Catholic Imagination Costume Institute Gala at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 7, 2018, in New York City. (Neilson Barnard/Getty Images)
Photos: Cardi B through the years 2019: Cardi B attends The 2019 Met Gala Celebrating Camp: Notes on Fashion at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 6, 2019, in New York City. (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue)
Photos: Cardi B through the years 2019: Offset (left) and Cardi B attend Rihanna's fifth annual Diamond Ball Benefitting the Clara Lionel Foundation at Cipriani Wall Street on September 12, 2019, in New York City. (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Diamond Ball)
Photos: Cardi B through the years 2020: Cardi B attends Universal Pictures Presents the Road to F9 Concert and Trailer Drop on January 31, 2020, in Miami. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for Universal Pictures)
Photos: Cardi B through the years 2020: Cardi B, Offset and Kulture Kiari Cephus attend the Teyana Taylor "The Album" Listening Party on June 17, 2020, in Beverly Hills, California. (Rich Fury/Getty Images for Def Jam Recordings)
Photos: Cardi B through the years 2021: Cardi B performs onstage during the 63rd annual Grammy Awards at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California, and broadcast on March 14, 2021. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)
Photos: Cardi B through the years 2021: Cardi B poses on the runway during the Balenciaga Womenswear Spring/Summer 2022 show as part of Paris Fashion Week at Theatre Du Chatelet on October 2, 2021, in Paris. (Richard Bord/Getty Images)