By Ben Fractenberg
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
UPPER EAST SIDE — Two elderly people were rushed to the hospital and residents evacuated after a fire broke out in an Upper East Side apartment building on Thursday.
Two senior citizens were found on the top floor of 200 East 71 Street after the fire department responded to the scene about 5:30 p.m., FDNY said.
An elderly man was found inside one apartment and an elderly woman was in the hallway, a fireman on the scene said. Both were treated for smoke inhalation and are in stable condition at New York Hospital, a FDNY spokesperson said.
Traffic on 71st Street was blocked off from Second to Third Avenues while fire trucks and ambulances surrounded the building.
“I thought all my stuff could be ruined,” said Ryan Raben, 29, who was coming home from work when he found fire trucks outside his building.
Another resident said they have been doing renovations on the building and that scaffolding has been up around it for three years.
The Department of Buildings website said there is a partial stop work order on the residence. A number of recent of complaints logged on the DOB's website had to do with construction outside the building.
Another tenant said the building has been having frequent problems, including burst pipes and flooding in the lobby of the building.
Raben said he had been considering getting home owner’s insurance before the blaze and definitely plans to purchase it in light of Thursday's fire.
