In New York, arson kills 5 in building

NEW YORK (AP) -- A fire swept through a three-story apartment building early Saturday, killing five people and injuring a dozen others, and forcing some residents to climb out windows to safety, fire officials said.
Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said the fire, reported just before 5:30 a.m., had been deliberately set in the ground-floor hallway of the building. The flames spread rapidly, engulfing a staircase to reach upper floors, he said.
Police were looking for suspects, but had not made any arrests by late Saturday afternoon.
Four adults and a child died, and three firefighters were among the 12 people who suffered minor injuries, Fire Chief Frank Cruthers said.
Wanda Gardner, who was at work when the blaze broke out, said her 65-year-old mother was able to escape the fire with Gardner's two children and four nieces and nephews.
"The kids couldn't get through the front door, so they started climbing out the windows," she said.
Cruthers said residents climbed onto the awning of the stores below to escape.
Gardner said one of the dead was her father, 74-year-old James Gardner. He had recently suffered a stroke and was too frail to escape, she said.
On the third floor, the blaze killed four members of an extended family, all immigrants from Guinea.
Police identified the dead as Mamadou Diallo, 30; Issiaga Diallo, 50, Kadiatou Bah, 41, and Bah's 2-year-old daughter, Oumou Diallo.
Bah's 48-year-old husband, also named Mamadou Diallo, said he had spent the night in a hospital with his 4-year-old son.
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