A firefighter suffered serious injuries battling an early-morning
blaze at a five-story Upper East Side apartment building Thursday,
authorities said.
Two residents and two other firefighters also
suffered minor injuries in the blaze, which broke out in a basement at
444 E. 88th St., between First and York avenues, about 5:32 a.m., the
FDNY said.
All the victims were taken to New York Hospital,
officials said. The nature of the seriously hurt firefighter’s injuries
were not immediately available, an FDNY spokesman said.
More than 100 firefighters in 25 units responded to the two-alarm blaze, officials said.
The
fire began in the building’s basement and spread through a shaft to the
first, second and fifth floors, as well as to the cockloft, which a
narrow, attic-like space at the top of the building.
The fire was brought under control at 6:58 a.m., the FDNY said.
Residents of the basement floor said they awoke to screams and a loud bang Thursday morning.
Adam Wier, 29, said he rousted his roommate after hearing a woman shouting upstairs about 5:30 a.m.
“Someone actually yelled to me, ‘There’s a fire, get out!'” he said.
His roommate, Batel Zur, 26, recalled hearing a deafening bang that shook the walls of their apartment.
“My
initial thought was that it was an earthquake,” she said. “It sounded
like something was coming from the pipes. It was a loud noise, like
rumbling.”
The cause of the blaze is under investigation.
