A courageous neighbor pried a woman from her Bronx apartment as her home went up in flames early Thursday, officials and witnesses said.
The blaze broke out in a fourth floor apartment of 1056 Sherman Ave. in Morrisania around 2:45 a.m. and was extinguished 45 minutes later, according to authorities.
Jose Maldonado, 37, said he was walking home to his apartment two blocks away when he saw smoke rising from the fourth floor of the six-story building.
"I saw the house catching on fire and I know the lady that lives up there so I ran upstairs," he said.
On his way up Maldonado shouted for neighbors to flee the building, banging on doors as he passed through the halls, he said.