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Fire Breaks Out at West 45th Street Building, FDNY Says

By  Joe Parziale and Aidan Gardiner | January 31, 2013 10:59am | Updated on January 31, 2013 12:05pm

HELL'S KITCHEN — A blaze broke out at a West 45th Street building Thursday morning, leaving one person injured, according to the FDNY.

The fire engulfed the top floor of 456 W. 45th St., about 9:50 a.m., a fire spokesman said.

The flames spread to the roof of the five-story building, which is near 10th Avenue, the spokesman said.

Yvette Polanco, 33, who lives on the fifth-floor of the buiding, said she smelled something burning and ran to the roof with her building's superintendent.

"We started grabbing anything we could and filling it with water: pasta pots and buckets," Polanco said. "It got too big so we came down here and I watched while the fireman punched a hole through my bedroom and another one through my kitchen."

Sixty firefighters battled the blaze for 40 minutes before bringing it under control, officials said.

The unidentified victim was taken to St. Luke's - Roosevelt Hospital Center with minor injuries, fire officials said.