Firefighters extinguish Prospect Lefferts Gardens apartment building fire
The fire, which started on the third floor of the building, took nearly 60 firefighters to get under control.
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Residents at 813 Hawthorne St. are praising the fast actions of fire fighters in combating a late Friday night blaze on the building's third floor.
Fire officials say they arrived around 11:40 p.m. to find smoke coming from the third floor. They were able to knock down the blaze by 12:20 a.m.
Those inside the building say around 10 minutes prior they had heard a knock on their door from their neighbors warning people to get out of the building.
Five people were removed from the building and refused medical attention, while on person was taken to the hospital. Their condition was unknown as of Saturday evening.
One mother told News 12 she grabbed her child and tried to get out of the building with her husband but was met with a wall of smoke on the third floor.
"Everyone was trying to get out of the building. We went down to the third floor and just hit a wall of smoke, it was so thick your mom instincts just say, 'turn around,'" Ellie D'Eustachio said.
She says her family delivered a 'thank you' note to the fire department to thank them for their efforts to help stop the spread in a building filled with seniors.
One resident told News 12 he was nervous about leaving the building as he uses a wheelchair. Hewas glad that he was able to remain in his fifth-floor apartment.
"We heard the sirens coming closer and closer and we smelled the smoke. Mycat got agitated and me, it flared up my COPD. That's why I'm outside now getting a breath of fresh air," said resident Patrick Lynch.
An exact cause of the fire was not immediately known as of Saturday evening.
