Eight people were hurt in a fire that started inside a 12th-floor apartment of a Brooklyn high-rise building Friday, officials say.
A mother and her seven young children were home inside the 22-story building at 315 Sutter Ave. in Brownsville when a bed suddenly went up in flames just before 4:30 p.m. The fire spread quickly.
"We start running, find the door to go and take the elevator to go outside," said the mother, Sioly Ramirez. "No shoes, no nothing and come outside."
Responding police officers spotted a 57-year-old woman on the 12th floor who had difficulty walking and breathing, and carried her down 12 flights of stairs to the building's lobby, the NYPD said.
The fire was under control within an hour. Eight people, including the woman who was carried down, had minor injuries, according to the FDNY.
Although Ramirez fled, her neighbors were told to stay inside their fireproof apartments. Earlier this month, 27-year-old Daniel McClung died while trying to escape a fire inside a Manhattan high-rise by going down the staircase. Officials said he would have been alive had he stayed inside his apartment.
Ramirez said she doesn't know what could have caused the fire. Officials are investigating.
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The Red Cross is helping Ramirez and another family who lost their belongings in the fire. Ramirez, whose daughter's 10th birthday is on Saturday, is devastated the family lost their home but are glad they're alive to celebrate.
"Thank God we are OK," she said.
