Chief, 3 residents hurt in apt. blaze

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - A two-alarm fire erupted in Buffalo Friday morning. Approximately 50 people live inside the apartments on the southeast corner of Amherst and Delaware. 

The Buffalo Fire Commissioner says  there were four injuries in the fire, including an injury to a fire chief's knee.  All injuries are non-life threatening, thanks in part to the quick thinking of some off duty firefighters who just happened to be in the neighborhood.

Talk about the right place at the right time. Firefighters Jeff Kane and Bob Carnevale were off duty and in the neighborhood of the apartment complex when they saw smoke.

Kane said, “You know you’re taking in the smoke. From what we do, we know what you can handle and what you can’t.”

Carnevale said, “We’re firefighters. Whether we have our equipment, or on duty or not, you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do.”

Witnesses say a woman living in a second-floor apartment jumped out of the window in order to survive.

Witness Talisa King said, “We had to move her from the front lawn to the street, because it was no longer safe because the air conditioner had flames around it, and it was bursting in the window.”

Kane said, “She had a better chance with the drop than the fire.”

Resident Francis Phillips said, “I heard someone in the hallway yell ‘fire.’ I walked out of my door and the fireman took me to safety.”

Adrianus Ridderhough said, “I couldn’t breathe. I covered my mouth up and tried to crawl out, but it was just too much.”

Ridderhough had to leave his cat behind in his apartment when firefighters rescued him from his 3rd floor apartment. Luckily, they were reunited shortly after the fire was out. 

It may have just been another day for these firefighters, but Kane's wife, Sarah, who was along for the ride was left with an uneasy feeling.

Sarah Kane said, “It was a little nerve wrecking. I had my six year old in the car with me and that was a little nerve wracking. No equipment to go in, to go into buildings without any masks or tanks.”

A city bus was on a hand for the residents to sit in and keep warm until the Red Cross arrived.  The commissioner tells News 4 that the apartment was inspected two months ago and was all up to code.  The cause is unknown and damage is estimated at $225,000.

Power was turned off but some residents are expected to be allowed back into their apartments later in the day. The fire chief and one resident injured in the fire were treated and released at ECMC. Two other residents remain at ECMC with non-life threatening injuries.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.