A pair of police officers were injured on Thursday afternoon when they ran into a burning building to save tenants, including an elderly fellow and a one-year-old baby, according to officials and a report by the New York Post.
The fire broke out in a rear apartment of the four-story apartment building at 32 Scholes St. between Union Avenue and Lorimer Street just before 1 pm, according to the fire department.
The two officers rushed inside to alert residents to the danger and, in the process, both cops inhaled smoke and started having trouble breathing, police said.
Among those rescued were Philipe Arroyo, his one-year-old daughter Kayleigh, and her grandmother Carmen Delrio, the Post reported.
Emergency services transported both cops to Woodhull Hospital, where they were treated and released, police stated.
The NYPD declined to release the name of the officers.
More than 100 firefighters responded to the blaze and got the fire under control in about 45 minutes, authorities stated. No tenants were injured, according to the authorities.
The FDNY said the cause of the flare-up is still under investigation.
The close call was the second time cops rushed to the rescue and got hurt when a conflagration threatened apartment dwellers. The first had fatal consequences when an officer died on Wednesday from inhaling smoke while trying to save people from a blaze in a Coney Island apartment complex three days prior. A second officer was injured in the inferno and a teenager has been arrested and could face a murder charge for setting the blaze, according to the Post.
