June 17, 2012: A firefighter is seen at the scene of an apartment fire in New York. (MyFoxNY)
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. – Thirty people were hospitalized Sunday night after a huge blaze ripped through multiple stories of a Long Island apartment building, MyFoxNY reported.
Hundreds of firefighters responded to the five-alarm blaze which was called in at 6:19pm in Hempstead, N.Y., 25 miles east of New York City.
The fire began inside a single apartment unit on the second floor of a seven-story building and quickly spread to multiple floors of the building, according to fire officials.
Neighbors said several firefighters had to scale ladders to help people stranded in the upper floors of the building. Flames could be seen from the street level and thick, black smoke rose toward the sky.
The fire was contained later Sunday night.
Two firefighters were among the 30 people hospitalized -- mainly for smoke inhalation.
The hottest stories ripped from the headlines, from crime to courts, legal and scandal.
