Three people were killed and five were injured when the top two floors of a Queens apartment building caught fire yesterday.

Fire department officials said the blaze began around 7:30 a.m. The two-alarm fire likely started in the stairwell on the first floor, but quickly spread to the rest of the three-story building at 66-76 69th St. in Middle Village.

Officials said the bulk of the fire was on the second and third floors.

Orlando Merced, 48, who lives next door to the building, said he heard screaming yesterday morning and assumed it was a fight, but grabbed his two children and ran out of his apartment when he smelled smoke.

Mr. Merced said he saw two residents who were on fire run out of the building, screaming for help. The owner of the Zstar Deli on the ground floor doused them with water, Mr. Merced said. According to published reports, several people were seen jumping out of windows to escape the smoke and fire.

“We saw two bodies sprawled on the floor,” Mr. Merced said. “The whole place was engulfed. A lot of people were burned.”

Officials said seven of the building’s residents were hospitalized. One man was treated and released yesterday, two are in critical condition, and two are in stable condition. Two others, including a 20-year-old man and a 48-year-old woman, died at the hospital yesterday evening.

A man who died at the scene was identified as Heriberto Garcia-Vera, 68.

Six firefighters suffered minor injuries.

The cause of the fire, which was under control by 8:15 a.m., is under investigation, officials said.

Mr. Merced said the apartment building had been constructed recently.