NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – One child was critically injured and two other children were seriously injured after a fire erupted in their family's apartment at a Bronx high-rise Saturday morning.
The fire broke out on the fifth-floor of an apartment building in Co-op City at 900 Baychester Ave. shortly before 10:30 a.m.
Officials say there was heavy, black smoke and flames when firefighters arrived.
The smoke was so thick that firefighters had to crawl on their hands and knees, feeling ahead of them as they went, FDNY Capt. Theodore Conroy said, adding that one firefighter went to a neighboring apartment to radio down the layout so firefighters could make their way through the smoke.
The mother and two of the children, ages 15 and 5, were found in a bedroom. Conroy says that's when the mother told firefighters one of her kids was still missing.
That 7-year-old boy, who had the most severe injuries, was found unconscious near the bathtub of a locked bathroom, according to Deputy Chief Joseph Woznica.
"Came across a locked bathroom, forced entry into it and found a child in respiratory arrest hiding," Woznica said.
He said it took a team effort to revive the little boy.
"They did an outstanding job, the firefighters, in bringing him down, giving him mouth to mouth. EMS, when they got him down here and started treating him, and then in the emergency room, when they did more extensive medical care to get him back and conscious again," Woznica said.
The children's father was also seriously injured; officials say he was found passed out in a hallway after apparently trying to get help.
The mother, meanwhile, refused medical attention.
All the victims were being treated for smoke inhalation at Jacobi Medical Center, according to officials.
The fire was brought under control, but the cause of the inferno is still under investigation.
Authorities believe the fire started in the kitchen of the apartment -- that's where the heaviest smoke and flames were found.
