EAST VILLAGE — A fire raced through the top floor of an East Second Street apartment building Thursday morning, leaving five people with minor injuries, the FDNY said.
Flames and smoke poured from the topmost windows of 264 E. Second St., near Avenue C, when the blaze erupted about 3:50 a.m., an FDNY spokesman said.
''Families were running out in pajamas. A lady was crying for her cat. Someone was screaming, 'There're kids in the house.' A couple minutes later, some firemen came down with kids in their arms,'' said 52-year-old Rafael Brenes, who had been walking nearby when the fire broke out.
"The flames were extremely big and bright red. It was very scary," said second-floor tenant Nitza de Jesus.
"The firefighters knocked on my door and woke me up," continued de Jesus, 66. "Everyone was running trying to help each other."
Five people were hurt by the time the fire was brought under control about an hour after it started, the FDNY said.
Two people were rushed to St. Luke's Hospital and two to Beth Israel, where they were treated for minor injuries, fire said. One person refused medical attention at the scene.
The cause of the fire was still under investigation.