A house fire in Queens sent flames tearing through the first and second floors of a home on Tuesday afternoon, and firefighters had to climb out a second-floor window onto a ladder to escape. Four FDNY members were injured in the operation.
The fire broke out near 249th Street and Hillside Avenue shortly before 2:10 p.m., according to Patch, with FDNY crews getting the flames under control by 3:14 p.m. Firehouse.com reported on the bailout and noted that crews arriving on scene encountered heavy fire from both the first and second floors, according to Firehouse.com, per its reporting attributed to PIX11's coverage of the blaze.
Firefighters Escape Through Window
Firefighters bailed out through a second-floor window onto a ladder.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the FDNY, and no additional details about how the blaze started have been released.
A Past FDNY Tragedy
The FDNY's history includes the “Black Sunday” tragedy. On January 23, 2005, six firefighters were forced to jump from a fourth-floor Bronx window; all six suffered critical injuries, and three later died, according to Fire Engineering.
Building Layout and Fire Safety
Fire Engineering's account of the Black Sunday building describes unpermitted SRO renovations, partition walls and restricted access to a rear fire escape. Earlier this month, a Kensington fire injured two people and displaced several families, according to a Hoodline report.
The FDNY maintains a citywide target response time of 4 minutes and 38 seconds for fire companies responding to life-threatening medical emergencies, according to city management records cited in Hoodline's earlier coverage of an off-duty firefighter's rescue in Queens. The fire was brought under control at 3:14 p.m.
