by RAPHAEL SUGARMAN
A two-alarm fire ripped through a Bronx apartment building Tuesday, leaving several families burned out of their homes and injuring a firefighter.
The blaze, in a five-story apartment building at the corner of Roberts and Crosby Aves. in Middletown, burned through three floors in a corner of the brick structure and reached just short of the cockloft before firefighters managed to bring it under control.
One firefighter suffered an injured shoulder and minor burns while fighting the blaze and had to be taken to Jacobi Medical Center for treatment.
Most of the residents at 2958 Roberts Ave. were out when the fire started about 12:40 p.m. in a woman's third-floor apartment.
Firefighters arrived at the scene at 12:47. A half-hour into fighting the stubborn blaze, the 20th Battalion chief at the scene called in a second alarm.
All told, 25 units and 106 firefighters and supervisors responded to the scene, as well as police and FDNY ambulance units.
The fire was finally declared under control at 1:50 p.m.
Police said the displaced families declined to be relocated and instead went to relatives' homes.
The cause of the fire was still listed as under investigation Tuesday.
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