A four-alarm fire raged through two homes on 71st Street between 20th and 21st avenues Monday.
The blaze began at 1 p.m., spreading from the first floor to the second floor of one house and then to the house next door.
Thirty-nine units, including 175 firefighters and EMS personnel, were called to the scene and the flames were under control by 2:57 p.m.
Seven firefighters were treated for minor injuries.
FDNY Chief of Fire Operations John Esposito told reporters that the people inside one of the buildings escaped before firefighters arrived.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
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