198 Fire, Emergency Personnel Called Out Thanksgiving Eve To Fight 5-Alarm Fire

INWOOD, NY — There were no injuries but about three dozen residents were left homeless Wednesday night when a fire ravaged a six-story apartment building at 78 Post Ave. in Inwood.

FDNY Chief of Department Thomas Richardson said the fire broke out around 8:15 p.m. Although units arrived within four minutes, the blaze spread quickly to the top floor of the apartment building, escalating it to five alarms.

In all, 198 fire and emergency medical personnel spent their Thanksgiving Eve at the scene.

"It got into the space between the ceiling and the roof; we call that the cockloft. It quickly spread on throughout the cockloft and it escalated to five alarms," Richardson said on the FDNY Facebook page.

As firefighters battled the blaze with water hoses from several angles, the stunned residents of the building were helpless to do anything but look on from the street.

Chief of EMS Operations Lillian Bonsignore said, while there were no injuries, the Red Cross was called to the scene to help the residents, many of whom had nothing but the clothes they were wearing, find temporary shelter.

Richardson said this isn't the first time this apartment building fell victim to fire. There was a four-alarm fire at the building on Jan. 5.

"They had a previous multiple-alarm fire at this building in January of this year, so part of the building was under renovation," he said. "We’re not sure where the fire started. Our fire marshals are on the scene investigating the cause."

Firefighters fought a four-alarm fire at the same apartment building Jan. 5.