1 Dead, Another Hurt After Jumping From Burning Building In Brooklyn
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- One man has died and another man was hurt after they were forced to jump from a burning three-story building in Brooklyn overnight.
Jean Maurice, 56, said his neighbor woke him up shouting "fire" when the blaze broke out just after 1 a.m. at a building on Nostrand Avenue in Flatbush.
"I see flame coming to the living room," he told reporters, including CBS2's Diane Macedo and 1010 WINS' Glenn Schuck.
Choking on the smoke, Maurice said he jumped out a window and managed to land on the nearby Golden Crust awning.
"I was scared," he said. "I said, 'I don't have any choice, I have to jump.'"
Maurice said the neighbor who woke him up got stuck at a different window and was forced to jump from the third floor onto a mattress that bystanders took out of the garbage and placed on the sidewalk.
Dramatic video showed the aftermath as Maurice waited on the awning while firefighters tried to move his neighbor, who was still on the mattress, away from falling debris.
Ricardo Tabico-Lopez was working at the deli next door and said he moved the mattress onto the sidewalk, but both he and other witnesses said the man's injuries were still very severe.
"The other person who jumped on the mattress, he was hurt. He was holding his back laying down on the floor," witness Yasser Alkadri said.
The man was taken to Staten Island University Hospital in critical condition, but later died, hospital officials said.
Maurice suffered arm and leg burns. He was taken to the hospital where he was treated and released.
Second time in 7 months Flatbush man had to flee fire in his apartment. This time had to jump to safety #1010WINS pic.twitter.com/H5t2OFwzdm
— glenn schuck (@glennschuck) July 6, 2015
Four other people escaped the blaze after a 16-year-old boy passing by saw smoke and began knocking on doors. Crews were able to bring the flames under control after nearly an hour.
Maurice said this is the second time a fire has forced him to flee his apartment in the past seven months.
Back in November, he said an electrical fire inside an apartment sent tenants scrambling to get out.
Investigators late Monday said the latest fire was caused by electrical issues -- including overloaded electrical cords and an overloaded power strip.