The fire broke out on the first floor of the Euclid Avenue building in Cypress Hills just before 11:45 p.m. Sunday night.
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Heavy smoke spread through the building, with many residents going to windows or fire escapes to get fresh air.
Firefighters transported 19 residents to the hospital, and police officers took another 10 in their cruisers to Jamaica Medical Center.
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All of the injuries were considered non-life threatening, mostly inhalation of smoke.
"I heard someone outside yelling 'fire' and I just saw people going on the fire escape, and that's when I woke my kids up and I brought them down too," a resident said.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, although several residents said they heard a battery on an electric wheelchair caught fire.
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