NYC High-Rise Blaze Injures 30 Firefighters

NEW YORK -- An elderly man was fighting for his life early today following a fire that injured 20 people in a lower Manhattan high-rise.

The 83-year-old victim went into cardiac arrest when he was pulled from the blaze at 460 Grand St., sources said.

Paramedics were able to revive him in an ambulance on the way to Bellevue Hospital, where he was listed in critical condition.

A woman was critical at Beth Israel Hospital, while seven other civilians and 30 firefighters sustained minor injuries.

Camillo Correia, 31, who owns the third-floor apartment where the fire burned for about 90 minutes, said he was returning home to the empty apartment when he saw what was happening.

"I looked up and I couldn't believe my apartment was on fire," he said. "The flames were shooting out the window."

As smoke rose up through the building, residents panicked.

"We couldn't breathe. The hallway was pitch black," said a resident who lives on the 21st floor.

"We put the kids in the bedroom and we put wet towels on their faces. We have one who's asthmatic, and we were afraid."

Several people were trapped in stairwells, despite being told to stay inside their apartments, fire officials said.

Those who did venture out had a tough time.

"You couldn't see. Period. The smoke was that thick," said a man who lives on the 23rd floor.

Naomi Pena and her two young children live on the 18th floor.

"The smoke started going through the apartment," she said. "I had to take the kids to the room in the back and stand by the windows open."

They were evacuated about 30 minutes later.

Pena's 7-year-old daughter, Elisha, said "It was real black and scary and dark going down the stairs. It was hard to breathe in there I'm glad we got out."

Republished with permission of The New York Post.