Three FDNY firefighters were hospitalized over the weekend after a pair of large shop awning signs collapsed on top of them while they battled a blaze in Manhattan.
Harrowing video of the incident shows the smoke-eaters standing by a burnt-out storefront along St. Nicholas Avenue in Washington Heights, on Saturday afternoon when the metal awnings hanging above them suddenly come loose.
The burnt signs for Tumblr Snack Shop and Rosie’s Beauty Salon then come crashing down on at least five firefighters, pinning several of them to the ground as the signs themselves break into pieces.
A wave of firefighters immediately rushes over to the wreckage, with the first responders working together to try to quickly free the trapped individuals, the footage shows.
One of the firefighters underneath the snack shop sign is freed within seconds, but it takes a group of at least a dozen of New York’s bravest working together to lift the beauty salon sign off their colleagues.
The trapped firefighters are soon freed and the sign breaks into pieces around them, according to the clip.
Three firefighters were rushed to a local hospital as a result of the collapse, and they were treated for minor injuries, FDNY officials said.
“It just goes to show how dangerous this job can be,” John Sarrocco, FDNY deputy assistant chief, told reporters at the scene.
Officials said the cause of the fire remains under investigation.
