At least one person died and 17 people were hurt in a raging fire that tore through an Upper Manhattan apartment building, fire officials said, leaving some residents trapped in their homes, clinging to windows as they tried to escape the thick smoke and call for help.
The fire broke out around 2 p.m. on the third floor of the building on St. Nicholas Place near 149th Street in the Hamilton Heights neighborhood, according to the FDNY. Crews responded to the scene in three minutes, seeing people on fire escapes of the six-story building.
Smoke and fire was blowing into the hallways of the building, shutting off a way out for some residents living on higher floors. A woman can be heard on cellphone video taken from the street yelling "Don't jump" up to those seen in windows, desperate to get out on the alley side of the building.
FDNY officials described it as a "very challenging" fire to fight, saying it was "so dangerous, firefighters had to make three rope rescues, which something very unusual for us to do at one fire." Another fire official said the department typically only performs one or two of those kinds of rescues a year, so three in one incident is very uncommon.
Three victims were found unconscious in the upper floors of the building and were rushed downstairs to receive help from EMS.
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One person was killed in the blaze and another 17 were hurt, four of whom were in critical condition at the hospital, fire officials said at a Friday evening news conference. Three of those saved in the rope rescues were said to be among those in critical condition.
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A total of 12 people were hospitalized, officials said, one of whom died from their injuries.
FDNY officials did not say what may have sparked the deadly fire.
