A fire that raced up the stairway of a Midtown apartment building trapped residents, forcing firefighters to make dramatic rescues from their windows.
Flames ripped through the stairway of the building on Ninth Avenue when it started just before 1:40 a.m. this morning.
Nine people were treated for injuries, including six residents rushed to St. Vincent's Hospital with serious but non life threatening injuries. One was a baby who suffered burns on the chest.
The fire started in the lower portion of the stairway and raced up, trapping tenants in their apartments. Frightened residents rushed to the windows and fire escapes, where firefighters used rescue buckets to pluck them to safety.
The heavy damage to the stairwell rendered the building uninhabitable. Residents of all nine apartments in the building were left homeless.
The cause of the fire is under investigation. One resident said the front door does not completely lock, and people use the stairway to smoke and drink.
The building has a restaurant, Il Punto, on the first floor and four stories of apartments above.
