FDNY runs into complications fighting Bronx apartment fire that injured 4
NORWOOD, Bronx (WABC) -- Four people, including two firefighters, were injured in a four-alarm fire at an apartment building in the Norwood section of the Bronx Thursday morning.
The fire broke out at 3435 Dekalb Ave., between Kossuth Avenue and East 208th Street, just before 6 a.m.
Fire officials say they believe the fire had been burning for quite some time before residents noticed it.
The fire broke out on the top floor of the building and spread to the cockloft.
Firefighters encountered several complications while battling the blaze. Officials say blown-in insulation in the building held in heat and smoke, while two cars blocking a fire hydrant made it difficult for firefighters to get water into the building faster.
Roughly 75 Fire and EMS units responded to the scene.
Two residents and two firefighters suffered minor, non-life-threatening injuries.
A resident named Victor is among the tenants who are now without a home.
"I work hard, you know, and I put a lot of money into that apartment," he said. "And then at the same time, I'm thanking God because my dogs could have been in there and I could have been at work. I could have been at the store, I could have been anywhere. So if it had to happen, thank God it happened in the time that it did, and everybody got out safe."
The Red Cross says dozens of people were left homeless and more are expected. They have set up an emergency response at Mosholu Montefiore Community Center.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
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