PROSPECT-LEFFERTS GARDENS — Firefighters saved two women hanging from a third-story window after a fire broke out in a Prospect-Lefferts Gardens building early Monday morning, officials said.
The blaze started just before 6:50 a.m. at 646 Rogers Ave., spreading from a first-floor beauty salon up the back of the building to the second and third floors, FDNY Brooklyn Borough Commander Deputy Assistant Chief James Leonard said.
"They had their upper bodies hanging out the window so they could breathe," said firefighter Paul Fehling of Ladder Company 113.
"There was heavy smoke pushing out the window behind them. When I got up there they told me there was a dog still inside, so the members inside tried to find the dog."
The two women were rushed to Kings County Hospital with minor injuries, along with a third person who was in the building during the blaze, the FDNY said.
Firefighters pulled the dog, a Shih Tzu, to safety, fire officials said.
Keptrice Leonard, who lives next-door at 644 Rogers Ave., said his mother spotted the flames first.
"My mom saw some fire coming out and she told me to get downstairs," Leonard said. "When I got downstairs, I saw fire coming out of the building [next-door], then everybody came down and we called police. If I was asleep, I don't know what would have happened."
Clair Wharwood, a neighbor, said the family that lived in 646 Rogers Ave. also owned the salon downstairs.
"It was very smoky, very hectic out here," Wharwood said. "I am just hoping that the family is okay because they are such great people, very very caring for each other and the community."
The cause of the fire was under investigation, officials said.
