An elderly couple was killed in a fire at their Upper Manhattan apartment early Tuesday morning, authorities said.
When firefighters responded to a three-alarm blaze on West 178th Street near Broadway in Washington Heights around 1:45 a.m., they found a 77-year-old wheelchair-bound woman and her 73-year-old husband inside an apartment on the top floor of the six-story building, according to authorities and reports.
“One [victim] “Firefighters survived the heavy fire throughout much of the apartment and located a second victim, possibly a male, in a back room,” FDNY Deputy Chief of Special Operations Malcolm Moore told reporters.
The two elderly victims were taken to Harlem Hospital, where they were pronounced dead.
Police were not immediately able to identify the person and are waiting to notify family members.
Family friend Ines Cabrera He told WABC The woman who died in the fire was disabled and used a wheelchair, so it is likely she would not have been able to escape.
Six other people were injured in the blaze, including three firefighters and three civilians, all with minor injuries, authorities said.
Moore said the fire had spread to the fifth floor and small flames were visible on a window frame on the third floor.
According to the New York City Fire Department, 33 NYFDC units, including 140 firefighters and paramedics, responded to the scene.
The fire was put out about two hours later, but its cause remained under investigation throughout the day.
