by Rocco Vertuccio
Police and fire investigators remain on the scene of an early-morning fire in a Brooklyn brownstone that injured 13 people.
Flames broke out just before 4:30 this morning in the stairwell of a four-story apartment building located at 175 Putnam Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant.
All nine of the buildings residents were trapped inside.
Three residents were taken to the hospital suffering from burns and smoke inhalation. Six others suffered minor injuries.
"I'm appreciative,” said one building resident. “I could have been dead. I could have been dead."
But Firefighter Peter Demontreaux, who rescued one man from the building and then went back into the flames to get a second, said he was just doing his job.
"We're all trained to do the same thing," said Demontreaux of FDNY Ladder Company 132. "Anyone who would hear somebody yelling in the back of the apartment would do the exact same thing."
"I was very relieved, when we got down the ladder, we handed the civilian off, and I was like, 'Pete, you scared the hell out of me, man,'" said Richie Meyers of FDNY Rescue 2. "He was like, 'sorry!' I said you don't have to be sorry, it's just like the most tremendous move I've ever seen."
While Demontreux downplayed the dramatic rescue, he was the most severely injured of four firefighters hurt in the blaze. He suffered first degree burns on his face and second degree burns on his back when the room erupted into flames while rescuing the second man.
Investigators have labeled the blaze suspicious because of the heavy amount of fire.
Residents say they saw three people running from the scene of the fire, but investigators are not commenting on those accusations.
Neighbors also tell NY1 one of the people who lived in the building was shot last week. They believe the fire and shooting are connected.
Police would not comment.
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