The newsman and his wife had nothing but praise for FDNY for saving them and the apartment.
The new year began with a truly frightening start for Tom Brokaw and his wife, Meredith Lynn Auld, who were forced to flee their New York City apartment after the building caught fire Wednesday morning.
The former NBC Nightly News anchor spoke with The New York Post on Thursday and said that they were "very, very fortunate" to escape the apartment blaze unscathed, and had nothing but praise for the city's fire department.
"We’re safe, and we were very, very impressed with the work of the NY Fire Department," Brokaw shared.
According to the 79-year-old veteran TV journalist, the fire was "close to the south floor of our building" and that it was "fully involved by the time [firefighters] got here."
Brokaw explained that they may not have even known about the fire in time were it not for the fire department's arrival, explaining that he and his wife were "awakened by their presence."
"Our dogs began to bark and we realized, we looked down in our elevator area and the fire department was coming up," he added.
A rep for FDNY tells ET that a fire broke out early Wednesday morning at the Upper East Side apartment building on East 79th Street.
The rep also confirmed that two firefighters were injured as they attempted to get the fire under control, and were transported to Weill Cornell Medical Center, adding one was in serious but non-life-threatening condition while the other suffered minor injuries.
The Post reports the family living in the 14th-floor apartment where the blaze began were not at home at the time of the fire, but their unit reportedly suffered significant damage.
"It could’ve been a lot worse," Brokaw said, adding that the fire, unfortunately, led to a "great property loss for the family."
Brokaw later took to Twitter to address the experience and to call attention to another fire that occurred the same day that he feels deserves more coverage.
"Fire in our bldg getting a lot of attention," Brokaw tweeted. "Need to remember at the same time a fire in harlem left three tenants injured, one seriously."
ET has reached out to Brokaw for additional comment.
-- Additional reporting by Mannie Holmes
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