Two teenagers survived a fire Thursday morning in their building after climbing out of a 4th-floor window in New York City.
The fire began around 7:15 a.m. on Thursday in a public housing project in the city’s East Village neighborhood. An 18-year-old woman can be seen climbing out of the window first before a 13-year-old boy followed, and both slid down a pole on the outside of the building, 6ABC reported. (RELATED: Smoke From Western Fires Choke New York City)
WATCH:
WATCH: Dramatic video of teens escaping apartment fire on Avenue D in East Village. NYC fire officials say a 13y/o boy and 18y/o female shimmy down a construction conduit down the side of a building@ABC7NY pic.twitter.com/FcG9iPxGtq
— Chantee Lans (@ChanteeLans) December 16, 2021
Authorities said they’re investigating the possibility of the fire’s origin, including several electric bicycles found in an apartment, the outlet noted. Tashaka Owens, a resident of the apartment complex, reportedly said the story would have been different had it not been for the pole outside of their window.
“They were about to jump out the window, but everyone kept telling them, ‘Hold on! Hold on!’ So when they held on, they got onto the side of the pole, and they started sliding down … and those kids, they made it down,” Owens said, according to 6ABC.
The two teenagers only suffered minor injuries and were treated for burns and smoke inhalation, 6ABC reported. A 32-year-old man died and a 46-year-old woman suffered severe injuries, as well as four others who sustained injuries, according to the outlet.