New York City firefighters dramatically rescued a man from his burning apartment during a 6-alarm blaze Thursday morning that left one person dead and dozens of families displaced in Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
The fire broke out on the first floor of the apartment building in the Yorkville section of Manhattan, according to local affiliate WABC. Seventeen people were injured in the fire, including 11 firefighters, as the flames spread through all five floors of the building and then through the roof, where embers rained down onto two other buildings.
All three buildings were evacuated, but the other two suffered only minor damage while the first was completely destroyed. The cause of the 6-alarm blaze is still being investigated.
Firefighters discovered one man on the third floor who was killed in the fire. Firefighter Jim Lee rescued another man from the fifth floor, lowering him with a rope down to the ground. The rope broke only seconds after they reached safety.
“This is the type of rescue that is really extraordinary,” FDNY Chief James Leonard told WABC. “He really put his life at risk.”
Lee said the man was in critical condition after the rescue but was later reported as stable at New York Presbyterian Hospital/Cornell burn unit.
A smoke alarm alerted building residents to get out, some in their pajamas. The Red Cross was on scene assisting the displaced residents. Nineteen families have been registered so far, including 22 adults and two children.
“We are talking from 10 to 20 apartments in each building. You can do that math on that,” Leonard told WABC.
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