Firefighters are injured in a six-alarm fire at East Village

A fire broke out Wednesday morning in a building in East Village, making more than a dozen wounded, including 11 firefighters, officials said.

The six-alarm fire broke out at the back of the first floor of the five-storey building at 188 First Ave. around 1:48 am and quickly spreads up to the fourth floor, according to the FDNY.

Eleven firefighters were injured – two seriously – with two civilians, authorities said.

All of the injured have sustained life-threatening injuries, officials said. They were taken to hospitals in the area.

More than 200 smoke eaters from 50 units responded to the fire and were still working to control the fire more than six hours later.

"Much of the roof of the first floor extension has burned, but because of the risk of collapse, we can not get in. And that's the problem, why we can not turn off this fire for the moment, "said James Leonard, head of the FDNY department, according to WABC.

The 30-foot by 90-foot building located between East 11 and East 12 streets has a Japanese restaurant on the ground floor and apartments above.

Ari Spitzer, a 22-year-old fourth floor resident, said to be woken up shortly after 2 am under the "scent of smoke".

"I heard sirens sound and I knew something was not going at all," said Spitzer, a business student at New York University. "I opened my front door and there was smoke in the hallway, so I knew it was not an option."

Spitzer said that he was then out of his fire escape and had attracted the attention of firefighters who had attended on the street.

The fire-ravaged building has been evacuated along with many other buildings in the area, officials said.

Neighboring schools, including the Girls Prep charter school, located in East 12th Street, have closed their doors to prevent students from being exposed to strong smoke.

The cause of the fire was not known immediately.