18 hurt, including 2 firefighters, in Belmont apartment building blaze
Emergency personnel erupted responded to 2174 Crotona Ave. before 7:45 a.m. Thursday. The FDNY says the blaze escalated to a second-alarms about seven minutes later.
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Eighteen people were hurt, including two firefighters, during an apartment building fire in the Belmont section of the Bronx, according to fire officials.
Emergency personnel responded to 2174 Crotona Ave. just before 7:45 a.m. Thursday. Fire officials say the blaze escalated to a second alarm about seven minutes later.
According to the FDNY, 141 fire and EMS personnel responded to the scene.
Officials say the fire started in unit 2A and extended into the apartments above and below - units 1A and 3A.
Citizen app footage shows orange flames shooting from the building as black smoke billowed into the surrounding area.
"We didn't know it was a fire. We were sleeping, and we heard a lot of the fire trucks. We got up and opened the windows, and when I looked down, I saw the building was on fire," said Yolanda Jacobo, a resident from the building.
The FDNY says its crews controlled the blaze at around 8:20 a.m.
According to the fire officials, EMS treated the 18 victims on scene. They all suffered minor injuries.
The Department of Buildings says it issued a partial vacate order for units 1A, 2A and 3A.
The Red Cross says it registered these three impacted households, which include 14 people, for emergency assistance.
"Minor fires, you know, like people leave the stove on, but a big fire like this? Never. And I've been here for a long time," Jacobo said.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known.
