by LIZ GIEGERICK and MICHAEL WHITE
A Manhattan firefighter was seriously hurt and more than a dozen other people were injured Thursday by a fast-moving three-alarm fire inside an upper East Side tower.
The 34-story apartment building at 200 E. 72nd St. was evacuated about 5 a.m. after the fire ignited in a store on the ground floor, officials said.
Paul Fusco said he was just getting to work at Grace's Marketplace when he saw flames inside the State News shop next-door. "It wasn't that big. By the time I called 911, it had caught on very quickly," said Fusco, 54.
Another five firefighters suffered minor injuries, mostly related to smoke inhalation.
Two of the firefighters were taken to New York-Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell with more serious conditions related to smoke inhalation. One was released later, officials said.
About 140 firefighters responded to the blaze, which fire marshals said was ignited by an electrical problem.
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