MELROSE — Thirty-two people were injured, and five residents were left in critical condition Saturday, following a three-alarm blaze that touched off on the fifth floor of a 27-story Bronx building, fire officials said.
The fire was reported at 7:39 a.m. and FDNY units responded at 7:40 a.m. to find a heavy fire emanating from a fifth-floor apartment at 225 East 149th St., with smoke filling the units throughout the building near Park Avenue, an FDNY spokesman said.
Thirty-two victims were transported to nearby hospitals, and five victims, all in critical condition, were being treated inside hyperbaric chambers at Jacobi Hospital on Saturday morning.
Five firefighters, of 140 who battled the blaze, were also injured Saturday, and suffered mostly smoke-related but non-life-threatening injuries, officials said.
The fire was brought under control at 9:45 a.m.
The fire was under investigation, the FDNY said.
