MURRAY HILL — A woman suffered life-threatening injuries in an apartment building fire in Queens Thursday, officials said.
The woman was one of nine people hurt in the blaze, which broke out on the fourth floor of the building at 157-11 Sanford Ave., near 157th Street in Murray Hill, about 4:40 a.m. and quickly climbed to the fifth and sixth floors, an FDNY spokesman said.
Smoke filled the building as tenants fled onto the street, they said.
"People were screaming in the hallways, screaming outside, on the corners," said Alicia Barnes, 26, who lives on the fourth floor with her son, 7, and nieces, 13 and 4.
"I had to wake up the kids and tell them to get their jackets. We opened the door a little bit to see if we could go down the stairs.
"My niece ran down first. I grabbed my son. The stairs were real smoky. Firefighters were coming up with hoses. It was really bad. It was terrible."
Once outside, tenants watched about 106 firefighters go to work, they said.
"I finally got out and saw the firefighters and people coming down the fire escape. Firefighters had the ladders up and were helping people down," said a 16-year-old girl who lives on the sixth floor.
"They carried an old lady out. Her eyes were closed. She looked passed out. It was very scary."
The woman, whose name and age weren't released, suffered severe smoke inhalation. She was being treated at Jacobi Medical Center, officials said.
Five civilians and three firefighters were all treated for minor injuries at Queens General Hospital, officials said.
The fire was under control by 6:10 a.m., the FDNY spokesman said.
Fire marshals will determine the cause, officials said.
