NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – A civilian was killed and six firefighters were injured in a massive fire at an Upper East Side apartment building on Monday night, officials said.
The fire broke out around 7:15 p.m. at 526 East 82nd St., engulfing the top floors of the six-story building off York Avenue.
Dozens of firefighters battled through the cold and flames for 90 minutes to get the fire under control.
Juan Cuervo watched the firefight from his apartment across the street.
“They put it out, but then like a minute later it came back, so they weren’t able to put it out right away,” he said. “And then it was like raining glass, because they were just breaking all the windows.”
FDNY crews were still dousing hotspots as fire marshals investigated the cause of the fire Tuesday.
Firefighters found one person dead in a hallway on the fifth floor, where the fire is believed to have started, the FDNY said.
That person hasn’t yet been identified, and it’s not yet clear if they were a resident of the building.
The six firefighters all suffered minor injuries.
A woman who was in the apartment where the fire began told CBS 2 that her cat died in the fire.
“When I opened the door and wanted to save him, but the smoke hit me in the face like an inferno,” she said.
As many as two dozen families living in the 23-unit building have been displaced and are being assisted by the Red Cross, officials said.