8 hospitalized, including 7 firefighters, after fire tears through building next to Cross Bronx Expressway
NEW YORK -- Fire officials are looking into the cause of a fire in the Bronx that destroyed more than half a dozen apartments and two businesses.
The intense blaze on Castle Hill Avenue near Watson Avenue sparked around 2 p.m. Monday, leaving several people homeless.
Broken windows and charred buildings are what's left after the raging fire ripped through.
Resident Muhammad Maqbul was inside his apartment when he sensed the danger.
"So many screams are coming from outside, and we were smelling, like, burning," he said. "And suddenly, we just came out, and we saw the first building was burned already, and we just came out right away."
Fire officials say the blaze began at 1103 Castle Hill Ave. and quickly spread to the corner building owned by Deon Kharran. He was cleaning the backyard when he heard the boom.
"So when I ran out, I saw a ball of fire about 25 feet up in the air. And then, so I run out to see, to get to the apartment, to save the people's life, because there was a lot of smoke going up," he said.
As the fire roared, more than 140 firefighters battled the heat from the fire and the hot weather, but flames were relentless.
"The roof started to sag, we had a partial collapse, and we went through units and all personnel off the roof," FDNY Chief John Esposito said.
The fire left apartments burned and tenants hopeless.
Rahim Uddin moved here from Bangladesh just six months ago.
"Documents, all of them inside. Passport, and I mean, money, all of them inside, so our feelings are not good," said Uddin.
In the end, seven firefighters and one civilian were hospitalized.
Kharran is trying to comprehend what happened.
"I know I have a big loss, but I feel glad to know that the people are safe, and also people from the other building," he said.
Officials say the firefighters who were hospitalized are being treated for smoke inhalation and heat exhaustion, but no life-threatening injuries are being reported at a result of the fire.
