The all-hands fire broke out just after 9:30 a.m. in the top floor apartment of 1347 East 17th Street in Midwood, where four people were rescued.
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Firefighters carried a mother of three, who is pregnant, out of her apartment filled with smoke.
"We were all afraid if they would make it out alive, they were carrying them, looked like they were unconscious," said neighbor Batya Chlai.
When crews arrived on the scene, they were faced with multiple challenges.
"It was a difficult search due to the amount of clutter in the apartment. Three of the victims were removed down the stairs of the building. One of the victims they took on fire escape on a towers ladder bucket," said FDNY Deputy Chief James Smithwick.
The unit directly below where the fire broke out was heavily damaged.
Andre Filippov was not home at the time, but now he can't stay.
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"It's like a bomb exploded, like Niagara Falls," he said.
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