What to Know
- 19 people were hurt, some of them seriously, when a two-alarm fire tore through a building in the Bronx early Wednesday
- Footage from the scene showed firefighters converging on the roof as bright orange flames leaped into the air around them
- A cause of the blaze is under investigation
More than a dozen people were hurt, two of whom were clinging to life, when a two-alarm fire tore through a three-story building in the Bronx early Wednesday.
Fire officials got a call about the blaze on Holland Avenue, near East 214th Street in Williamsbridge, shortly after 6 a.m. More than 100 firefighters and emergency personnel responded to the blaze, which broke out on the ground floor and rapidly spread throughout the entire building.
Multiple neighbors tell News 4 several people jumped out of a third-floor window onto a car hood to escape the flames. The hood was seen dented later Wednesday, a mattress that a neighbor had brought out to help soften the landings sitting nearby.
"It looked like somebody opens the door, and the flame just came out," said neighbor Helenda Johnson. "Once I seen that you, you started seeing people jump out the window. They were throwing kids out the window."
"That was the most horrible thing I could see," said Darion Ennis. "I seen my nieces jumping through the window. My cousin jumping from the third window, jumping to the car."
Neighbor Coreen Daniel said, "I look upstairs, and the lady upstairs, they threw her out and she land on the car."
Trying to get a family out, Rafael Corchado whipped rocks at the windows, encouraging children to jump to safety, then drove them to the hospital.
"The little girl was shaking, had no shoes on, nothing," he said. "I grabbed her and put her in my van."
Local
A total of 19 people were hurt, FDNY said, including seven people who suffered serious but non-life threatening injuries and two people who were in critical condition. Eight civilians, one firefighter and one police officer suffered minor injuries, according to the department.
Four of the injured were taken to the hospital via ambulance, and 11 transported themselves, the department said. The other four refused medical attention at the scene.
Details on the victims weren't immediately available.
Footage from the scene showed firefighters converging on the roof as bright orange flames leaped into the air around them. A cause of the blaze is under investigation.
