What to Know
- A fire in Gravesend injured eight people, most of them family members, Saturday
- The fire took over a first-floor apartment, sending thick, black smoke spewing out windows as children screamed inside, witnesses said
- Four people, including two children, were in critical condition; two other children were in serious condition, officials said
Eight people were hurt, including two children who suffered critical injuries, after a family became trapped in their apartment during a fire at a Brooklyn high-rise, according to fire officials.
Witnesses described seeing thick, black smoke and hearing children screaming from a first-floor apartment in the Marlboro Houses in Gravesend Sunday afternoon.
Deputy Assistant Chief Richard Howe said about 80 firefighters and EMTs responded to a "very large" fire in a three-bedroom apartment around 2:30 p.m.
FDNY spokesman Jim Long said eight people were injured; six of those people were hospitalized and the other two refused medical attention.
Long said four people were critically injured, including a man, a woman, a girl and a boy. Two other children -- a 9-year-old girl and a 9-month-old girl -- were in serious but stable condition.
Kevin Rhodes said he and others rushed to the building with an axe to help, but that they couldn't get inside because there were bars on the windows. Firefighters eventually arrived and smashed through the windows to rescue those inside the apartment.
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"Me and a couple friends tried to break the back windows, then the fire department came with axes and stuff and broke the back windows, pulled out a girl, a baby girl, two little boys and an adult," Rhodes said. "It was the fire department and civilians working together."
Video shows the charred, smashed windows where firefighters entered.
As firefighters rescued those inside, witnesses described a "terrifying" scene of a newborn and kids covered in soot being pulled from the apartment.
Glenda Reyes said the mother of some of the children was overwhelmed and fainted in her arms.
"She was just screaming, 'My babies, my babies,'" Reyes said.
Fire officials said the building is fireproof and that the fire did not spread to other apartments.
Fire marshals are investigating what sparked the blaze, but officials said it doesn't appear to be suspicious. A smoke detector was working at the time, according to officials.
