Video from the scene showed flames and smoke pouring from the building.
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — Almost two dozen residents have been hurt in an early morning seven-alarm fire in the Bronx.
The fire is believed to have started around 5:30 a.m. Tuesday in a furniture store at a four-story building on the corner of East Tremont Avenue and Commonwealth Avenue. The store is on the ground floor with apartments above.
The FDNY said more than 200 firefighters were battling the blaze. Flames and smoke could be seen pouring from the building and officials said the second floor collapsed onto the first.
The bitter cold also made fighting the fire difficult. Icicles could be seen forming on the power lines in front of the building, CBS2’s Reena Roy reported.
The FDNY said 22 people suffered non-life threatening injuries. A firefighter was also hurt.
Meanwhile, residents who were forced out in the cold were staying warm on a city bus, WCBS 880’s Marla Diamond reported.
“I opened the door and nothing but black smoke,” said resident Allison Douglas. “I told everybody in the building, ‘Run, run, run. Get out! It’s a fire.’”
One resident escaped the burning building with his three young children.
“The smoke was so heavy. Luckily we reached all the way to the bottom. We couldn’t see anything on the stairs,” said the man, who ran outside without his shoes or a shirt. “I came downstairs barefoot, no shirt, nothing. Not even shoes, just my babies. Somebody just lent me his shoes and a sweatshirt.”
Resident Erica Ortiz said a window guard blocked her from using the fire escape.
“Couldn’t kick it off, anything. It was bolted in,” she said.
The Red Cross said it is helping multiple families who were displaced.
The cause of the fire is unknown.
