NEW YORK, Feb. 24 (UPI) -- A couple died, 28 people were injured and 200 left homeless when fire raced through an apartment building Tuesday in New York's Chinatown, officials said.
Killed in the 3:45 am. four-alarm fire were Tony Wong, 30, and his girlfriend, Anna Luu, 33, the New York Daily News said. They were overcome by smoke in their second-floor apartment, the newspaper said.
Officials blamed the fire on a faulty extension cord in Wong's apartment.
Jacquelyn Gallo, 28, told the Daily News she "felt the heat of the fire and ... started to panic."
She said she forced her window open and climbed up the fire escape to the roof where about 15 people sought refuge. As the flames got closer, she and a few others jumped about 8 feet down onto a nearby structure.
"I thought I was going to die," she said.
Fire Department officials said three of those seriously injured jumped out windows to flee the fire, the New York Post reported. Four others were listed in critical condition in area hospitals.
"People were yelling and screaming from their fire escapes," witness Mary Liu told the Post. "They were crying for help. It was chaos."
Fire Chief of Operations Pat McNally said strong winds and bitter cold made battling the early morning fire "very difficult."
Eight firefighters suffered minor injuries, fire officials said to the Post.
