At least 34 people, including over a dozen firefighters and six children, were injured in a five-alarm blaze at a multi-family apartment building in Staten Island, New York early Thursday.

The fire started at the five-unit building in the Rosebank neighborhood around 1 a.m., according to the FDNY.

"There was a tremendous amount of fire," said Fire Chief Pete Leicht, according to NBC New York.

Because of the ferocious flames, a father was forced to throw his two young children out of a second-floor window in a desperate attempt for survival. Fortunately, Anthony DiSimone and his fiancée Darlene Cerzosie were able to catch the two children.

"He was just dangling his son outside screaming, 'Catch my boy! Catch my boy!'" said DiSimone, who successfully caught his young son.

"The father was stuck up there ... he couldn't do anything -- black smoke was just billowing out that window," DiSimone told the Staten Island Advance. "So I went underneath -- he threw him right to me and I caught his son."

When Cerzosie caught his daughter she fell and injured her shoulder from the impact. Nevertheless, she says she would do it again in a heartbeat despite her injury.

"There was no way I was gonna let those kids stay up there any longer than they had to," she said. "It's not about being a hero at all. I just did what I would want done for me or my family."

Once firefighters arrived, they were able to help the father out of the building, in addition to several others, by pulling ladders up to windows.

"They were crying, very distraught because they didn't know if their parents were alive or dead, so the firemen came and bravely went up there and rescued the parents," DiSimone said. "Hopefully they were all right," he said of the children. "They seemed all right."

The New York Daily News reports that five adults, six children and 23 are firefighters were hurt in the fire, but all are expected to survive. One adult with cardiac issues was reported to be in serious condition.

The blaze was deemed under control by 8:46 a.m. but the cause has yet to be determined.