Jun 15, 2008 11:19 pm US/Eastern
Queens Residents Jump From Building To Escape Fire
Blaze Leaves 3 Dead, 5 Seriously Injured
QUEENS (CBS) ―
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Many residents of a Queens apartment building were forced to jump from their windows to escape a deadly fire.
CBS
Many residents of a Queens apartment building were forced to jump from their windows to escape a deadly fire that left three people dead Sunday morning.
Desperate to save themselves from the raging fire inside their Middle Village apartment building, residents did whatever they could to get out alive, including jumping out of their windows.
"I seen smoke billowing out of the top floor and this lady sitting on window ledge of the second floor and she just jumped," said Bryan Onody.
"All of a sudden she just jumped and as she jumped she fell on top of the other lady that was sitting on top of the awning," added George Zugajewicz.
In the few minutes it took help to arrive, Zugajewicz says he saw four people jump from the burning building. He caught one in his arms.
"I told him jump. I'll catch you, and as he jumped I caught him," said Zugajewicz.
Another man was able to walk out, but was severely burned by the flames. Five others were also seriously injured.
"As the guy ran back out of the deli, I threw some gallons of water to the deli owner and he grabbed some more we started putting him out," added Zugajewicz.
The stairwell was filled with immense fire and smoke so residents trying to escape were trapped. They actually made matters worse when they opened doors and gave fuel to the fire.
"Had they not opened the door to the apartments, they would have been much better off," said Fire Chief Steven Kublar.
Luckily many were able to run out of the engulfed building. Sebastian Castro was able to climb to safety thanks to the fire department.
"I sat down by the window and they got a ladder and I got down climbing down ladder," Castro told CBS 2 HD.
Investigators with the fire marshal's office are now looking into the cause of this fatal fire.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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