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Flames broke out in a six-story co-op known as 'The Hamilton' on busy 60 E. 9th Street.
"I couldn't see, so I could barely breathe. I never been inside a smoke capsule like that - my eyes was burning," said Isiah Turman.
Investigators believe the fire started in the kitchen cooking area of a ground floor deli and then traveled undetected up a shaft to the roof.
"They really had their work cut out for them with the amount of fire and smoke they were faced with," said FDNY Commissioner Dan Nigro.
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Before long, the fire hit five alarms, and 200 members of the FDNY fought to get ahead of it - and they succeeded, containing the flames to just one wing.
In the end, 19 firefighters were injured, but no residents were hurt. Firefighters also rescued a dog named Finnegan - reuniting him with his frantic owner.