The blaze began in Peekskill on Friday, March 22 just before 2:30 p.m., when a fire alarm was set off at the Crossroads Apartments at 1109 Brown St., according to the City of Peekskill Fire Department.
Arriving fire crews soon found smoke coming from the window of a fifth-floor apartment and quickly raced up to begin putting it out. Once they got to the floor of the fire, crews found that the hallway was filled with smoke and found an active blaze inside the apartment.
Firefighters then used a fire extinguisher and the building's sprinkler system to begin putting out the flames while crews also searched the building for any residents in danger of being affected. These residents were then evacuated.
Because the fire was up on the fifth floor, the department said it was a "labor-intensive" blaze.
"High-rise fires are inherently more dynamic incidents, as they require many more tasks to be completed simultaneously than a typical private dwelling fire," the department said.
Despite the challenge, though, firefighters were able to keep the blaze contained within the apartment that it started in with little smoke and water damage to adjacent units.
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