WASHINGTON HEIGHTS — A fire broke out in a Riverside Drive building early Wednesday, officials said.
The blaze started in a kitchen in one of the apartments at 853 Riverside Drive at about 8:15 a.m., FDNY officials said.
Residents said the fire sparked when a wheel-chair-bound resident in a fifth-floor apartment accidentally set herself afire while cooking.
"My roommate's mother, who's had a stroke and is in a wheelchair, was trying to cook something and she set herself and the chair on fire," said Edwin Gilliam, 58. "
Neighbors were alarmed when the woman's son was heard yelling through the hallways.
"I heard him screaming. He was trying to get his mother out," said Maria Tamayo, 48. "When I came out, I saw the flames coming from the chair. He was in shock for his mother."
FDNY officials said three people were taken New York Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital. None of the injuries were considered life-threatening.