New York City firefighters conducted a series of daring rescue efforts during an apartment fire on Friday. The fire left one person dead and more than a dozen injured Friday. People were seen hanging from windows and fire escapes to escape the flames, and one person jumped. On the ground.
The fire broke out just after 2 p.m. on the third floor of a six-story building at 149th Street and St. Nicholas Place in Harlem. Fire officials said the flames spread through the hallway, trapping people on the upper floors.
The New York City Fire Department said there were “numerous” people on the fire escape when firefighters arrived.
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A fire broke out in a building in Harlem on Friday, trapping people and leaving one person dead and 17 injured. (WNYW)
“It was so dangerous that firefighters had to rope in three rescues, which is highly unusual for a single fire,” FDNY officials said at a news conference.
FDNY Chief John Hodgens said the department averages one rope rescue a year because of the severity of the fires.
He said one person jumped from a window as flames and smoke spread throughout the building.
“Unfortunately, due to the severity of this fire, one of the victims had to jump out of a window,” he said. “They hung there for a little while, but they couldn’t take it anymore and fell off.”
Witness Michelle Paradis told FOX 5 NY she saw a window jumper.
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“They were on the window sill, trying to escape, but it was all the way up on the top floor… They were clinging to the window,” she said. “They probably couldn’t hold on for long and fell to the ground.”
In all, 18 people were injured. Twelve of them were taken to area hospitals. Five of the victims are in critical condition. It is unclear whether the person who died was the one who jumped from the window.
Firefighters performed a rope rescue to save people hanging out of windows due to heavy smoke. Firefighters are attached to ropes grabbed from the roof and lowered down the side of the building.
From there, firefighters grabbed the trapped person and brought them to the ground with assistance from the New York City Police Department’s Special Operations Aviation Unit.
FDNY Chief John Hodgens called the firefighters’ actions “very heroic” Friday.
A fire broke out on the third floor of an apartment building in Harlem, New York, on Friday. (WNYW)
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One of the two firefighters involved in the dangerous rescue operation was an apprentice firefighter who had been on the job for less than a year.
Hodgens said three people were found unconscious on the upper floor and given life-saving treatment.
The cause of the fire has not been determined.
