'Grandma, There's A Fire:' Early Morning Blaze Rips Through Bronx Apartment Building
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A fire ripped through a three-story apartment building overnight in the Williamsbridge section of the Bronx.
Flames broke out around shortly before 3:30 a.m. Friday on Holland Avenue near East 212th Street.
CBS2's Jenna DeAngelis spoke with a resident who lives in the unit where the fire started.
"I was watching a movie, and then my granddaughter was trying to plug in the phone to charge it. But she got shocked by the outlet," Sharon Morison said. "My grandson run in the room and said 'grandma, there's a fire!'"
Morison tried to stop the flames from spreading.
"I run to the sink to get some water to [put] out the fire, but the fire was so blazing," she said. "I had to run out and get everybody out."
Zoe Cavalera was among the 20 residents forced to evacuate in the early-morning hours.
"I looked out the window and I saw fire outside in the yard. And I smelled it, it was really strong. Then I looked in my bathroom and the smoke was coming up from the floor. And then I went to grab [my cat] and the windows exploded," she said.
She said she was grateful to get out with her cat and clothes on her back, but heartbroken with so much still left behind.
"Terrible. My life is up there, everything's up there," she said. "My husband's ashes are up there."
Fire officials said the flames spread quickly to the second and third floors.
"It was all contained to the one fire building, but there's a lot of damage where the rear wall looks like it's in danger of collapsing," said Deputy Fire Chief Michael Gunning.
Two civilians and four firefighters suffered minor injuries, but everyone is expected to be OK.
"I feel very good because I'm not gone, I'm here," Morison said.
The official cause of the fire is under investigation.
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