By Trevor Kapp and Wil Cruz
DNAinfo Staff
BROOKLYN — Seven people, including three firefighters, were hurt in a four-alarm fire that engulfed an apartment building in Bushwick early Tuesday, officials said.
The fast-moving blaze at 368 Himrod Street, near Wyckoff Ave., began about 8:20 a.m., the FDNY said.
"I was leaving for work, and when I opened the door there was a lot of black smoke," said Arnold Gonzalez, 45, a super of several buildings in the area who lives on the third floor of the Himrod Street building. "I seen the fire coming through the doors and walls."
The raging fire jumped to a fourth-alarm — requiring more than 200 firefighters and 60 units — about an hour after it initially sparked.
Gonzalez, whose wife, Evelyn, and 12-year-old son were still in the building, initially tried to put out the fire himself.
"I saw a woman in the hallway with no shoes. She was screaming," he said. "I grabbed her and a fire extinguisher and tried to put out the fire."
"I tried not to panic," he added. "I tried to run upstairs, but it was too dark. I couldn't see. I was really scared because the fire traveled upstairs."
Meanwhile, his wife, Evelyn Gonzalez, 44, was stumbling through the dark in a panic. ''When I couldn't get out the door, I thought I was gonna die," she said.
"It was pitch black. I couldn't grab anything. I couldn't get out. I couldn't see. I was coughing, and my son was panicking.''
They all escaped unhurt.
The fire was under control at 9:47 a.m., officials said. The cause was under investigation, and fire marshals were expected to be called to the scene.
Three of the injured suffered smoke inhalation; the other four suffered less serious injuries, Deputy Chief Assistant James Leonard said.
The civilians were transported to Wyckoff Hospital, and the firefighters were treated at the scene, officials said.
It was unclear how many people were inside the three-story building.
As the smoke was clearing, Bushwick residents were scrambling to find out about friends who live in the building.
Madeline Hosking, 35, said her friend Carmen, who has a 1-year-old baby, lives on the first floor.
"I looked out my window and saw smoke coming out and called my friend," said Hosking, who lives nearby.
"I was petrified. You don't want anything to happen to your friend. Everybody came running out to see what was going on."
