More than 20 people—including as many as 16 FDNY firefighters—were injured in a massive eight-alarm blaze that tore through a Queens apartment building Tuesday.
Around 400 firefighters from 130 units responded to the devastating inferno at about 1 p.m. in the Jackson Heights neighborhood, WABC-TV reports. Flames erupted from windows, and thick plumes of smoke from the building's roof could be seen coming for miles.
"When the units arrived, the door of apartment was open, there was an advanced fire," FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro said, according to WABC. "The first units in were trying to make their advance, three of the members were burned. Thankfully the burns were not serious, although they have been taken to the hospital."
Crews worked throughout the afternoon and into the evening to get the blaze under control, and officials expected to be working at the scene for the next few days. Firefighters initially tried to attack the flames from the roof, but a fear of a possible collapse moved personnel back.
“This is a very wide and deep building. The fire spread rapidly through the cockloft and consumed one side of the...
Posted by New York City Fire Department (FDNY) on Tuesday, April 6, 2021
"Intermittently we have used interior streams, exterior streams," Nigro said, according to WABC. "Very difficult for our members. Very taxing. We are still operating here, we will be here for some time."
Of the 21 people injured, five were residents in the building, with four refusing medical attention and another taken to the hospital. Two of injured firefighters suffered non-life threatening burns and were taken to a burn center.
“This is still a very active fire scene. We were called here shortly after 1 o’clock. Fire was on the sixth-floor of...
Posted by New York City Fire Department (FDNY) on Tuesday, April 6, 2021
The building has 150 apartment units, and the fire displaced 240 residents. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
On Wednesday, Nigro said that a delay in contacting 9-1-1 contributed to the enormity of the blaze, the New York Daily News reports. The fire's spread also was fueled by the fact that the resident in the apartment where the fire broke out failed to shut the door to the unit before fleeing the building.
