Fire in built environment - North America - United States

At least 12 people were injured, including one critically, and multiple rescues were made after a fire broke out at a building in the Bronx on Wednesday.<br />FDNY officials say the "all-hands" fire was reported at 2165 Ryer Ave. on East 182nd and 181st streets in Fordham Heights just after 4 p.m.<br />Before firefighters even got to the scene, a deli worker named Ali helped lift another man up to the window of the burning building to save little boy trapped inside.<br />They tried to save other people but were met with flames shooting out the window and growing more intense by the second.<br />A man named Jonathan Gomez heard the children screaming and ran inside.<br />"They were screaming like, 'help, help, help!' And one of them was saying, 'I can't breathe, I can't breathe,'" he said.<br />He and his friend fought through smoke to pull two children out of the fire, in a show of nothing less than community heroism.<br />"Me, I did it for the simple fact that there were kids involved," Gomez said. "Feel grateful. Feel like I was here for a reason."<br />What appeared to be a third child they were looking for was pulled from the window by firefighters. Multiple rescues were made.<br />One female victim was located in the hallway and rescued by firefighters, and a second victim was located in a bedroom, and was brought outside via the bucket of the fire truck ladder.<br />"Units went up. They began searching -- the fire apartment. They located the first individual in the hallway, and she was brought out via the interior stairs to the sidewalk," said FDNY Deputy Chief Andrew Holzmaier.<br />Officials say 12 people were injured, including one who is in critical condition, and two others who are in serious, but non-life threatening condition. Nine other victims suffered minor injuries. They were taken to nearby hospitals.<br />Official say the fire was mainly contained to one apartment, but there will be some damage to surrounding apartments, and damage to apartments below.<br />Fire Marshals began their work once the fire was under control just before 5 p.m. So did the cleanup for shop owners on the ground level of the building on Ryer Avenue. Some of the victims are their customers.<br />The Red Cross is assisting displaced residents.<br />The cause of the fire remains under investigation.