Two Students Injured in NYC School Blaze

Jan. 8, 2008
A late-afternoon fire in a Brooklyn middle school yesterday sent about 120 students and several teachers fleeing the building to escape choking, black smoke.

A late-afternoon fire in a Brooklyn middle school yesterday sent about 120 students and several teachers fleeing the building to escape choking, black smoke.

Two kids and three rescuers were treated for smoke inhalation, the FDNY said.

The blaze began on the second floor of IS 228 in Gravesend at 5:10 p.m., during after-school activities, apparently when a student tossed a lit match into a closet in Room 215, officials said.

"The heat was so bad that it pushed me out the door," said one of two school custodians hailed as heroes by students and faculty for helping to douse the flames before making their own escape.

About 80 firefighters responded to the alarm.

"It was scary, but we got out very quick," said an 11- year-old.

A Department of Education representative said the school would be open for classes today.

Republished with permission of The New York Post.

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