Fire Tears Through Fort Lee Apartment Building [Video]

FORT LEE, NJ — Flames shot out of an apartment complex and into the sky during a fire at a Fort Lee apartment building Thursday night.

The fire shot out of both sides of the Linwood Park Cooperative apartment building as firefighters fought to get the blaze under control. Three of them suffered minor injuries, Mayor Mark Sokolich told NBC4 New York.

The fire began shortly before 5 p.m. and firefighters battled the blaze for five hours before finally bringing it under control, NorthJersey.com reported.

The fire started in the basement and spread throughout the 45-unit building, Sokolich told NorthJersey.com. The first floor partially collapsed, according to the report.

Residents climbed down fire escapes to get out of the building, ABC7 reported.

One resident banged on people's doors, begging them to come out. She "got as many of the elderly out as I could," she told ABC7.

"I was banging on people's doors begging them to come out and got as many of the elderly out as I could, I didn't even come out with shoes," said one resident who helped her neighbors escape.

Residents ran from the building after they smelled smoke; one man whose apartment was destroyed said, "It's filled with smoke. I can't breathe," according to the NBC report.

Displaced residents were relocated to the senior center on Main Street, officials said.

Email: daniel.hubbard@patch.com

Image: YouTube screenshot