More than a dozen New York City Police Department officers suffered minor injuries after they scrambled to wake up residents during an early morning apartment fire.
The two-alarm fire broke out just before midnight on Tuesday. More than 100 firefighters responded to the blaze, which filled much of the building with thick smoke. The source of the fire was on the second and third floors, and firefighters took about an hour to get it under control.
Fourteen officers primarily suffered injuries related to smoke inhalation. The deputies rushed into the burning building and began frantically banging on the doors of tenants in order to get them out. In addition to the officers, one or two residents were injured.
“I saw flames just gushing out,” recalled Harold Bonet, one of the residents at the apartment.
The blaze is under investigation.
