See it: NYPD officers rush into Brooklyn building to help residents escape fire

BROWNSVILLE, Brooklyn (PIX11) – NYPD officers jumped into action after seeing smoke coming from a Brooklyn apartment building and helped evacuate residents to safety, video showed.

The fire broke out on the fourth floor of a 22-story apartment building at the Hughes Apartments complex in Brownsville on Wednesday, according to the FDNY. At least nine people were injured in the fire, officials said.

The NYPD shared police body-camera footage showing officers rushing up flights of stairs to assist building residents, including children and a man on crutches. Smoke could be seen filling the hallways as the officers ushered people out of the building.

Videos posted to Citizen show smoke billowing out of multiple apartment windows as emergency personnel look down from an apartment above. Another video showed a woman hanging out of a window, holding a bag, as smoke poured from an adjacent window.

Members of the FDNY were also praised for their heroic actions in rescuing an unconscious woman who was trapped in a fourth-floor apartment. 

“That was awesome, that was great, because she would’ve died in there,” said Dahlia Miles, the woman’s neighbor.

The firefighters didn’t have a hose line to protect them when they went in to save the woman.

“We knew there was someone in there so we couldn’t wait. We had to make a lifesaving decision which is what we train for,” FDNY Lt. Salvatore Mirra said.