By Serena Solomon and Olivia Scheck
DNAinfo Staff
UPPER EAST SIDE — A firefighter and a woman were injured after a fire broke out Tuesday morning at an Upper East Side high-rise, fire officials said.
The blaze started on the fifth floor of the Gerel building at 1100 Madison Ave., a 10-story pre-war high-rise between East 82nd and East 83rd streets, according to the FDNY.
Fifth floor resident Cheryl Fleming, 55, said she ran to the victim's aid after hearing her calls for help.
"I was sitting at my computer and a heard "'help, help,'" Fleming said.
Fleming said she then ran to the the victim's apartment and found a small fire on the couch near the electrical socket. Fleming then ran back to get her fire extinguisher.
"By the time I came back the fire had taken over the whole wall compared to just the furniture. There was black plumes of smoke everywhere," she said. "The doorman came up and got her [the victim]. She had a burn on her foot."
The two injured people were taken to New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center with non-critical injuries, the department said. A firefighter at the scene said the injured woman was middle-aged and suffered a minor burn.
Five windows were broken out on the fifth floor of the building following the fire.
Shattered glass littered the street and smoke stains could be seen on the building's exterior.
Building resident Michelle Kucsma said she was on the phone when she looked out the window and noticed there was a fire raging two floors below her.
"I said 'Oh my God, my building is on fire, I have to go,'" the 52-year-old lawyer recalled.
There was smoke in her apartment and in the hallways, but firefighters told her to remain inside, since the fire was unlikely to spread through the concrete walls, according to Kucsma.
The company that manages the building, Elyachar Properties, declined to comment on the fire.
