Families displaced by fire at 6-story apartment building in New York City
CLAREMONT, Bronx (WABC) -- Some residents were left homeless after a fire at a six-story apartment building in the Bronx on Tuesday afternoon.
The fire was reported at a building on Grand Concourse and East 171st Street in the Claremont section just after 4 p.m.
At one point, flames shot out the windows on the upper floors and through the roof as 120 firefighters worked for two hours to put the fire out.
Families ran for their lives while their homes filled with smoke and flames.
"We heard screaming," said resident Angel Nieves. "My mom opened the door. All you see is smoke. We ran out the building. You couldn't see nothing. It was just black."
"We were panicking because either we're dying or we gotta come up with some game plan," said resident Ashley Thompson. "Luckily, we were able to go through the fire escape all the way down."
Tensions were high during the fire as police scuffled with family members who were trying to get into the burning building because they were worried about their relatives.
The fire began on the 6th floor, spread to the roof line then down a shaft to the lobby.
"It makes it more difficult because you have to bring a hose line to each location," said FDNY Deputy Chief Jason Cascone. "Labor intensive operation. You have to have a lot of units to do that."
No major injuries were reported, but at least two firefighters could be seen getting oxygen inside an ambulance.
The cause of the fire is not yet clear, but authorities suspect it began in the kitchen of a top floor apartment.
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