9 injured in suspected NYC arson fire as residents flee with children, pets
Nine people were injured — including a child left in critical condition — when a suspected arson fire ripped through a Brooklyn apartment building early Tuesday, the FDNY said.
The blaze erupted on the first floor of the building on Evergreen Ave in Bushwick just before 3 a.m. — with witnesses telling cops a man in his 60s was seen setting the blaze in a “public area” of the building with an “unknown flammable substance.”
Dramatic images from the chaotic scene show residents fleeing the flames and smoke while clutching children and pets as they are treated by paramedics.
Multiple families, including a baby and a toddler, were among those assessed at the scene by first responders. It wasn’t immediately clear, though, how many suffered burns.
Terrified residents described having to wade through thick black smoke in a bid to escape the building, while fire crews had to rescue others via the multiple windows.
“We had six dogs, a baby, my godson and his baby moms, which I had to run upstairs and try to save,” one woman told ABC7 from the scene.
“I made sure everyone got out the best way they could.”
The FDNY is currently probing the cause of the blaze.
No arrests have been reported.