FORDHAM HEIGHTS, The Bronx (WABC) — At least 12 people were injured, including one critically, and multiple rescues were made after a fire broke out at a building in the Bronx on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
FDNY officials say the “all-hands” fire was reported at 2165 Ryer Ave. on East 182nd and 181st streets in Fordham Heights just after 4 p.m.<\/p>\n
Before firefighters even got to the scene, a deli worker named Ali helped lift another man up to the window of the burning building to save little boy trapped inside.<\/p>\n
They tried to save other people but were met with flames shooting out the window and growing more intense by the second.<\/p>\n
A man named Jonathan Gomez heard the children screaming and ran inside.<\/p>\n
“They were screaming like, ‘help, help, help!’ And one of them was saying, ‘I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe,'” he said.<\/p>\n
He and his friend fought through smoke to pull two children out of the fire, in a show of nothing less than community heroism.<\/p>\n
“Me, I did it for the simple fact that there were kids involved,” Gomez said. “Feel grateful. Feel like I was here for a reason.”<\/p>\n
What appeared to be a third child they were looking for was pulled from the window by firefighters. Multiple rescues were made.<\/p>\n
One female victim was located in the hallway and rescued by firefighters, and a second victim was located in a bedroom, and was brought outside via the bucket of the fire truck ladder.<\/p>\n
“Units went up. They began searching — the fire apartment. They located the first individual in the hallway, and she was brought out via the interior stairs to the sidewalk,” said FDNY Deputy Chief Andrew Holzmaier.<\/p>\n
Officials say 12 people were injured, including one who is in critical condition, and two others who are in serious, but non-life threatening condition. Nine other victims suffered minor injuries. They were taken to nearby hospitals.<\/p>\n
Official say the fire was mainly contained to one apartment, but there will be some damage to surrounding apartments, and damage to apartments below.<\/p>\n
Fire Marshals began their work once the fire was under control just before 5 p.m. So did the cleanup for shop owners on the ground level of the building on Ryer Avenue. Some of the victims are their customers.<\/p>\n
The Red Cross is assisting displaced residents.<\/p>\n
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.<\/p>\n
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