Sixteen people, including six firefighters and at least two children, were injured in an early morning fire at a Brooklyn apartment building, the FDNY said.
The fire started just after 6 a.m. in a seven-story building at 65 Bay 19th Street in the Bath Beach area, according to fire officials.
Three people, including an adult and two children, were found in an apartment above the second-floor home where the fire appeared to have started, firefighters said. The three victims were critically injured and taken to a nearby hospital, where they were being treated in the intensive care unit.
Seven other civilians and six firefighters were injured in the blaze. The injuries to the firefighters were all considered minor, according to officials.
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A total of 106 firefighters and 25 medical personnel responded to assist with the fire.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, though firefighters said a key mistake caused the flames to spread more rapidly. According to the FDNY, the door to the apartment where the fire started was left open, causing heavy smoke conditions in the hallway and stairs.
A New York City law mandates apartment doors be self-closing, shutting and latching by themselves when left open. It wasn't clear why that didn't happen in this.
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Long hallways also made it difficult for firefighters to find the source of the flames, forcing them to use ladders to climb into apartments from the outside.