9 firefighters injured in wind-driven fire across several buildings in Queens
NEW YORK -- Firefighters had to battle wind and fire on Tuesday night in Woodside, Queens, as flames jumped from home to home.
The fire ended up destroying four houses and displacing more than a dozen people.
CBS2 found families on Wednesday sifting through the rubble.
As neighbors comforted distraught 78-year-old Maria Leonffu, her son tried salvaging whatever he could from their shell of a house, the family's home the last 40 years.
"Even my shoes. Look, look, no shoes, nothing. All my, everything ... nothing," Leonffu said.
Members of the FDNY encountered heavy fire and smoke on 59th Street at the scene on Tuesday night. More than 200 first responders struggled for hours to gain the upper hand, fighting back blustery winds that spread flames from home to home.
Luis Leonffu saw the fire begin next door.
"Somehow the car caught on fire. Then the neighbor's car also caught on fire and that's how it started. His house burned and because ours are attached, our house burned and that's how it is," Luis Leonffu said.
Nine firefighters in total were rushed to hospitals, all suffering non life-threatening injuries.
By the time crews got everything under control, four homes were destroyed.
"This is a relic. This is an '87. But now it's no longer anything. It was like brand new," Luis Leonffu said of the precious possessions lost, including his 1987 Acura Integra and the jewelry Maria wore on her wedding day.
"My two sons, my husband, thank God, not hurt. But material things, nothing, nothing," Maria Leonffu said.
The fire left 18 people permanently displaced, but many like the Leonffus are focusing on the positive to get through.
