6 hurt when Bronx fire tears through row of homes

NORWOOD (WABC) -- A third-alarm fire is burning through several homes in the Norwood section of the Bronx Wednesday morning.

The flames broke out inside one home on East 209th Street just after 7:30 a.m. and quickly spread to two others.

"I woke up to the smoke alarm," said Jarrod Hollman, a fire victim.

It was a scary way to start the day for residents of a multifamily house on Decatur Avenue. Cell phone video shows the intensity of the fire that quickly spread to three alarms. Several residents in the front facing section of the structure were able to get out, but it was a different situation in the rear of the house. The damage makes clear why for three occupants; going out of second floor windows was the only option. Jarrod Hollman shimmied down an exterior pipe.

"There's nothing for support, there was nothing for me to grab on to, so I basically had to grab on to the windowsill and slide down," Hollman said.

But his cousin Diamond Hollman jumped from the second floor. Her friend Tanisha Washington was in the shower at the time and made the lifesaving leap without any clothes on. That's when several neighbors rushed to help.

"She was on the ground, and the guy that I was with grabbed a blanket to cover her up, and no one was here yet," said Wayne Hopkins, a neighborhood resident.

"Some of the neighbors in the neighborhood, they banged the gate with a rock, and then brought the young lady out," said Joseph Stephen, a neighborhood resident.

The fire spread to the adjacent homes on the narrow block. But there were no serious injuries. Washington and Hollman are at Jacobi Hospital with leg and neck injuries, but will be okay.

"I'm glad she's alright, but I'm hurt that my sister lost her place, you know, I'm really hurt that they lost their place. It's just an upset right now. They have to start from scratch all over again," said Darren Hollman, the victim's father.

Six people total were hurt, but none of the injuries is believed to be life threatening.

The Red Cross remains at the scene assisting the three displaced families made up of 11 adults and 3 children.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.