Scenes of a high-risk fire in the east of the village that injured 14

Ari Spitzer He woke up Wednesday in his fourth floor apartment in Manhattan around 2 am, to the deafening sirens and the smell of thick smoke.

When he opened his door, the hallway was so smoky that he could not leave. "I could not even see," he says.

He rushed to the fire escape, where the smoke was so thick that he could not see far enough to get to the ground. From there, the fire crews helped him down.

Firefighters were still on the scene at 11 am and were striving to extinguish the six-alarm fire in a building in the east of the village that had started early Wednesday.

Fourteen people, including 11 firefighters, were injured, officials said. None of the victims were injured.

After more than six hours of fighting the fire, firefighters were removed from inside the building, fearing that it would collapse.

"We no longer want to put our employees at risk," said James E. Leonard, chief of the New York Fire Department.

The fire broke out just before 2 a.m. at 188 First Avenue, a five-storey building with eight apartments and a Japanese restaurant, Uogashi, on the ground floor.

The building was evacuated and some businesses were closed. Two schools nearby, P.S. 19 Asher Levy and East Side Community High School were closed for the day.

"There was a lot of smoke and the streets were closed so it was difficult to bring children to the area," said Chief Leonard.

Officials said they believed the fire had started in the restaurant.

By 8 am, the fire was almost under control, a spokesman for the fire department said, but the crews were still fighting the flames in a structure at the back of the building that had been fired. partially collapsed.

Chief Leonard said he was expecting an "extended operation", with firefighters letting the fire burn through the roof of the rear-building.

Mr. Spitzer said that he had been told that it would be at least a day before his roommate, who was out of town, could return to their apartment. Then he texted his roommate: "Our apartment was on fire. I see you in the morning. "