By Thomas Tracy
New York Daily News
NEW YORK — A massive fire caused the roof of an Upper West Side apartment building to collapse, leaving four people hurt, including a firefighter, and sending debris tumbling to the sidewalk, FDNY officials said.
The blaze broke out on the top floor of the six-story building on W. 107th St. near Amsterdam Ave. about 8:20 a.m., FDNY Chief of Operations Kevin Woods said.
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“When we arrived, we had heavy, heavy fire on the top floor and through the roof,” Woods said. “The fire was heavily involved in three of the four apartments (on the top floor).”
The top of the building was quickly consumed by flames, sending a massive cloud of black smoke into the air.
Firefighters fought the blaze in frigid 27-degree temperatures for two hours before it was brought under control at 10:30 a.m.
As the fire raged, firefighters were ordered out of the building because of structural concerns, Woods said.
“Based on the amount of fire and structural damage, we removed them and opened up the tower ladders to extinguish the fire,” Woods explained. “There was heavy damage to these apartments and the roof space collapsed into the top floor.”
The parapet wall connected to the burning roof also came loose and crashed onto the sidewalk, he said.
“We have a collapse zone set up,” Woods said. “Right now the fire is under control but we will maintain a watch line at this scene throughout the day.”
One firefighter suffered a minor burn battling the fire. Three civilians also suffered minor injuries but were able to be walked out of the building to awaiting ambulances. EMS took all four patients to local hospitals for treatment.
FDNY fire marshals are investigating the cause of the blaze.
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