Fire Breaks Out In Dorm Rooms At SUNY Maritime College In The Bronx

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A fire broke out Monday morning at SUNY Maritime College in the Bronx, forcing students to evacuate.

The fire started around 7:30 a.m. at the C & D dorm on the Throggs Neck campus.

Cellphone video showed flames shooting out of dorm room windows on the second and third floors.

Dozens of cadets at the special college, where most are preparing to get a Coast Guard license and work on ships, had to evacuate in a matter of minutes. They stood in 30-degree temperatures by the water on the Throggs Neck Peninsula for more than an hour watching the scene.

"Fire alarms were going off, so we ran over here, saw the flames come out the window, just busted right out," student Donald Laskay said.

"It caught the curtains, and then after the curtains, everything just started lighting up -- the bed, desks, everything," student Spetsieris Aristides said.

"It just grew and grew and started shooting out, and it kind of hooked up to the other building," student Brian Redican said.

Fire officials said there were many concerns when they arrived at the scene.

"Lots of rooms up there on both those floors, they all had to be searched, but we were fortunate that the students were out on the parade grounds at the start of the fire," Deputy Fire Chief James Dunleavy said.

Firefighters managed to contain the fire to two rooms. They say the students who lived there had left just minutes earlier.

No one was hurt in the blaze.

David Douglas and his roommate, Colin McCoy, said they left their room 10 minutes before it caught on fire.

"You didn't really know what to think because it's just kind of overwhelming at the time," Douglas said.

They said the fire gutted their room, and they can't salvage much.

"Everything I pretty much own is gone except for like my wallet and a few other things," McCoy said.

"Everything I have to study for my exams next year, for a four-year license exam, was in my room," Douglas said. "So I don't know what I'm going to have to study off of now. I'll have to start all over again."

The college said it's doing everything possible to help the fire victims. The school said students already have new rooms and will be given new books so they can stay on track for their exams.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.