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Tom Brokaw and His Wife Escape Fire in Their New York City Apartment Building: We’re ‘Very, Very Fortunate’

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Tom Brokaw and Meredith BrokawMichael Dwyer/AP/Shutterstock

Safe and sound. Tom Brokaw and his wife, Meredith Lynn Auld, narrowly made it out of their New York City apartment building after a fire broke out on New Year’s Day.

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The former NBC Nightly News anchor, 79, spoke with the New York Post hours after firefighters were dispatched to his Upper East Side building, saying he felt “very, very fortunate” for his safety.

“We’re safe, and we were very, very impressed with the work of the NY Fire Department,” he told the Post. “It was close to the south floor of our building and it was fully involved by the time they got here.”

The former Meet the Press host continued, “We were awakened by their presence, frankly. Our dogs began to bark and we realized, we looked down in our elevator area and the fire department was coming up.”

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According to the Post, more than 100 members of the New York Fire Department showed up to snuff out the fire just after midnight on Wednesday. The fire broke out two floors above Brokaw and Auld’s apartment, in a unit whose owners were reportedly out of town at the time.

Firefighters had the situation under control in about two hours, with only six people sustaining non-fatal injuries. The injured civilian and five firefighters were quickly transported to a nearby hospital.

“It could have been a lot worse. It was great property loss for the family,” Brokaw told the Post on Wednesday. “No damage to our unit. We got a little smoke. Really, it’s a cautionary tale about living in the danger of fire. But thank God for the New York Fire Department.”

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While the legendary news anchor was grateful for the support and prayers his family received from fans, he called attention to another fire in Harlem, New York, that broke out the same night. Brokaw tweeted a gentle reminder to his followers, noting the disparity in news coverage for the two tragic events.

“Fire in our [building] getting a lot of attention. Need to remember at the same time a fire in Harlem left three tenants injured, one [seriously],” Brokaw said on Wednesday night.

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