5 hurt, including 1 firefighter, in Bronx apartment building fire
NEW YORK -- Around 200 firefighters spent Sunday evening trying to contain a five-alarm fire in the Bronx.
Five people were hurt, including one firefighter. All suffered minor injuries.
More than 44 families were left without a home, but many who spoke to CBS2 were just grateful there was no loss of life considering the size of this fire.
Sunday night flames shot out the top floor of the six-story apartment building on Noble Avenue. It seemed to spread just as black smoke filled the sky for what seemed like miles.
Almost four dozen FDNY units descended upon the building located between the Cross Bronx Expressway and East 174th Street in the Soundview section.
The FDNY says it started just after 7 p.m., and that's when residents noticed the smell at first.
"I thought it was a barbecue," neighbor Angela Rivera said. "It started slowly, and then all of a sudden, it broke out in flames."
"The little man was barking ... I said, time to go, so I grabbed my little dog, my little man, and get out the building," tenant Kevin Mills said.
Mills, who uses a wheelchair, lives on the first floor but says a neighbor helped him down a few steps to get out of the building.
The owner of a momma Yorkie and her three pups also ran out.
"Whatever's in there, I can replace that," Mills said. "We may have a flood inside, maybe not. We don't know yet."
The FDNY says the cause is under investigation.
Ashli Gibbs lives in the building adjacent to the fire and says she and her neighbors were also evacauted.
"I saw smoke," she said. "I ran in to take my son out right away. He's 13 years old ... This is devastating because this is a low-income block, and a lot of people, they just can't afford to really be in these type of these situations."
The Red Cross and the city's Office of Emergency Management are assisting those displaced.
