Fire marshals are investigating the cause of a six-alarm fire in Upper Manhattan on Friday that left one firefighter seriously injured and dozens of residents displaced.
The blaze broke out at about 2:45 p.m. on Nov. 1 inside 528 West 145th St. in Hamilton Heights.
The first arriving FDNY units encountered heavy fire throughout the second floor of the six-story apartment building. According to Chief of Fire Operations Kevin Woods, the firefighters noticed fire extending through the void spaces and floors above as they worked to advance hose lines to battle the flames.
Things took an even more dangerous turn when one firefighter, while using a hose line, fell through a shaft, landing 40 feet below.
“During the overhaul, we had a firefighter who was backing down the stairs and stepped into a window and then down about 40 feet into a shaft behind the building,” said Fire Commissioner Robert Tucker.”The firefighter is in serious but stable condition in Harlem Hospital. He received immediate medical care at the bottom of the shaft from the FDNY physicians on the scene and our rescue medics and firefighters, got to him very quickly.”
Members of Rescue Companies 1 and 3 helped get the injured firefighter out of the building. EMS rushed the firefighter to Harlem Hospital in critical but stable condition.
Three other firefighters wound up being hospitalized at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital for injuries they suffered in the blaze, and are listed in stable condition. Five residents were also taken to local hospitals for treatment of injuries not considered life-threatening.
The blaze was brought under control at about 7:05 p.m. on Friday night.
Mayor Eric Adams visited with the critically injured firefighter at the hospital, and also spoke with families displaced by the blaze as they were provided with care from the American Red Cross.
