Early video from fire that engulfed roof of Manhattan apartment building. 8 firefighters treated for minor injuries & heat exhaustion.
Here’s the rest from this videographer: Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5.
Click here for the helicopter view of the fire
The video above begins more than three-minutes before the arrival of FDNY to 240 East Houston Street late Thursday afternoon. The fire quickly consumed the roof of the upscale condo in the East Village. Eight firefighters were treated for minor burns, smoke inhalation and heat exhaustion.
Nearly 140 firefighters were sent to battle the blaze, which caused no deaths or major injuries but spread anxiety throughout the neighborhood. Eight firefighters had minor injuries, including burns and smoke inhalation.
The building — a five-story red-brick structure where the average price of a condo is nearly $1.2 million — has about 20 apartments. Residents said that about a half dozen of them had people living in them. The building had several businesses on the ground floor.
The Fire Department was investigating the cause of the fire Thursday night, and the extent of the damage was still being assessed. Residents said they believed that the blaze began on the roof, where construction workers had recently started a renovation project.
Above is another pre-arrival view of the fire.
Stefanie Smentek, who lives in the building with her husband and 9-year-old Boston terrier, Oreo, said she was walking home after work when she saw the black smoke and started running, realizing that her dog was still in her fourth-floor apartment. When she got there, she begged the police and firefighters to help her, but she was initially turned away.
“I told a lot of firefighters, and I got yelled at by a lot of cops” for trying to get into the building, Ms. Smentek said.
A firefighter eventually agreed to help her, she said, and returned minutes later and handed her Oreo, his leash and a cup of water.
