Firefighters Battle Large Blaze at Bronx Apartment Building

Nearly 200 firefighters were working to contain a large blaze that broke out at an apartment building in the Bronx early Friday, injuring at least seven people, the Fire Department said.

Firefighters were called to a six-story residential building on Wallace Avenue just before 2 a.m., the Fire Department said in an email. The blaze was elevated to a five-alarm fire about an hour later, it said, among the most severe classifications.

Seven people were injured, including five firefighters, the department said. One person was treated at the scene but refused transfer to a hospital.

A spokeswoman for the New York City Police Department said earlier that some people had suffered smoke inhalation injuries.

The Fire Department said at 6:30 a.m. that “operations remain ongoing” at the building.

The smoke and flames, pouring out of the building’s upper floors and roof, appeared to have spread to neighboring buildings, according to videos posted online by TV news outlets.

The cause of the fire was still being investigated, the Police Department spokeswoman said.

The Red Cross was at the scene helping residents that were displaced by the fire, said Aries Dela Cruz, a spokesman for the New York City Emergency Management. A temporary shelter had been set up at a school on Adee Avenue nearby.

This is a developing story and will be updated.