14 injured as fire spreads to multiple buildings in Queens
NEW YORK – Fourteen people were injured, including nearly a dozen firefighters, as a fire spread to multiple buildings in Queens Saturday.
Firefighters were called to a home on Francis Lewis Boulevard near Hillside Avenue in Queens Village just after 4 p.m. Crews remained on the scene to check for hot spots overnight and were still there on Sunday morning.
When crews first arrived, New York City Fire Department officials said they found a "fierce fire" that was rapidly extending into multiple adjoining buildings. Enormous plumes of black smoke could be seen from blocks away.
The fire quickly rose to a fifth alarm, with over 200 firefighters, EMTs and paramedics responding to the scene.
FDNY officials said flames spread across multiple floors of five buildings that all shared a cockloft, which is the empty space below the roof. Two neighboring buildings also suffered minor damage, along with two garages and some vehicles.
Crews got the fire under control in about two hours, fire officials said.
Eleven firefighters and three civilians were taken to local hospitals to be treated for non-life-threatening injuries. Officials said the majority of the injuries were heat-related.
"It was a very difficult fire fight, very warm today, very humid. And it takes a toll on our firefighters," said FDNY Acting Chief of Department John Esposito.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, but the FDNY said propane cylinders in the rear of the building may have fueled the flames.
Over two dozen displaced by Queens Village fire
All residents were able to get out of their homes, and firefighters did not have to make any rescues.
"It just started from the neighbor's house and then came all the way into our house ... My mom, she was doing some work in the kitchen, and then she heard noise and she went outside on the deck, and then she saw fire, fire all over the place. And then it just came into our house," one resident said.
"I'm getting emotional right now because all of things damaged, but thanks Allah ... thanks God, saved my family," resident MD Khan said.
"Nobody was killed, especially the kids that play here. I mean, this is unique because it's a place where kids actually run up and down to play, and we were worried about them mostly. And also there's some old timers that live here that have been here for many, many years and really kept their houses nice, and it's a shame," neighbor Anthony Gagliardi said.
The Red Cross said they were assisting 22 adults and 10 children who were displaced by the fire.