NEW YORK– A five-alarm fire is raging in the Bronx and officials say four people have been hospitalized.
Firefighters are on scene along Wallace Avenue in the Allerton section trying to control the intense flames and smoke. Elijah Westbrook of CBS News New York reports that it appears four different parts of the roof have been swallowed up.
The FDNY said it received the first call around 1:40 a.m. Friday. When crews arrived, they determined the fire was coming from the sixth and top floor of the building.
Officials say the fire grew to a five-alarm blaze in just under an hour. Police said two residents and two firefighters were taken to the hospital. No word was given on the extent of their injuries.
Big scene at the fire in the Bronx today
Other residents described how they escaped safely.
“We were sleeping, me and my wife, and we smelled some kind of smoke, fire. We didn’t know it was that big until the fire brigade started breaking down the doors and knocking down the doors, and then we found out that it was quite big,” said one man.
“I was about to go to bed, then I saw the trucks and I said, ‘Oh, this doesn’t look good,’” another man added. “Then I actually said, let me gather some stuff and get out of here.”
“When I got home at noon, I was lying down and I smelled something. So I said, ‘What’s going on?’ Then I realized the water in my apartment was falling on me,” one woman said. “So I ran outside. When I ran outside, I saw the seriousness. So I took my parents and we came out.”
The FDNY says there are 44 units and 198 firefighters assisting in the effort. Once the flames are out, they will figure out what caused the fire.
Stay with CBS News New York for the latest updates on this developing story.
