Started On 3rd Floor, Spread Up To 5th, Officials Say
November 24, 2013 10:58 AM
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — Firefighters were battling a blaze at a five-story apartment building in upper Manhattan on Thursday morning.
As CBS 2′s Janelle Burrell reported, the fire at West 138th Street and Riverside Drive in Hamilton Heights began around 7 a.m. The blaze started on the third floor but spread up to the fifth, fire officials said.
- 1010 WINS' Roger Stern reports.
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Firefighters had raised multiple ladders leading into the building, as smoke billowed out from windows.
The wind gusts blowing in from the Hudson River made battling the blaze more difficult for firefighters as they tried to contain it. The winds fanned the flames, and they spread quickly, trapping a firefighter on the fifth floor.
The winds however eventually changed directions, shifting the flames so the firefighter could escape, an official told 1010 WINS’ Roger Stern.
The blaze forced residents of the building — as well as those in neighboring buildings — to evacuate. The firefighter suffered minor injuries.
“I heard the beeper next door to my apartment going off and I saw the fire trucks, and I got dressed as quick as possible,” said Carl Freeman, who lives in a neighboring building. “Got my wife up and told her, ‘Let’s get out of here quick.’ So she’s in the car across the street warming up, keeping warm, and I’m out here watching what’s going on.
“It’s one of the coldest mornings. I feel sorry for all those people that are out of their homes now.”
The cause of the fire was unknown.
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