Firefighters rescued a terrified family — including two young children still in their pajamas — and an elderly woman from a fast-moving blaze that broke out in a six-story Harlem building early Monday.
The inferno left two people injured, one seriously, officials said.
The fire broke out around 6:30 a.m. at 201 W. 145th St., with bright orange flames ripping through the awning of a locksmith shop on the ground floor.
The flames reached the third floor of the mixed-use building, which includes residential apartments.
The blaze prompted the evacuation of the upper floors of the building, where members of the family could be seen leaning out the windows and shrieking for help.
“They were screaming for help, making sure that they were noticed,” said Drew Koritzer, who spotted the blaze through his apartment window. “The fire was bursting through the door, and there was smoke pouring out of everywhere.”
At least seven responding firefighters used a tower ladder to rescue the family, pulling a small pajama-clad boy out first and then returning for the others.
The unidentified elderly woman was removed next and whisked away on a stretcher, Koritzer said.
The shell-shocked family sat on the curb, drinking water and watching their home burn as the rest of the building’s tenants were evacuated via stairwells.
The blaze was under control within an hour, according to the FDNY.
Officials are still investigating what caused the fire.


