A raging inferno consumed the top floor of a Manhattan building overnight, forcing middle-of-the-night evacuations and leaving dozens of tenants without access to their homes.
The fire at a six-story dwelling on West 141st Street in Hamilton Heights eventually triggered a 5-alarm response, bringing an estimated 200 firefighters and EMS personnel to the blaze, the FDNY said.
Emergency responders first arrived to the building around 1:30 a.m. Saturday and found the fire raging on the top floor.
"The fire quickly extended into the space above the ceiling and the roof which we call the cockloft," FDNY Chief of Department John Hodgens said.
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The building and its 42 units were inaccessible to all residents long after the fire department gained control and put out the flames. The American Red Cross estimated at least 109 were temporarily displaced from the fire. The organization set up emergency assistance at nearby P.S. 192 for anyone in need of food or shelter.
FDNY officials said at least nine people were injured in the inferno, seven of which were firefighters.
Investigators were able to rule the fire accidental, sparked by electrical wiring in the ceiling of the top floor, the FDNY said.
