A newborn girl is missing nearly a day after a devastating fire tore through a home in Queens, claiming one life and injuring seven others. Among the injured is a man whose “skin melted off his face and body.”
The fire erupted around 6:45 p.m. on Monday at a residence on Dong An Avenue, between Poyer Street and Broadway, impacting nine individuals, including a 17-day-old baby girl.
Pictures from the scene reveal the four-story structure reduced to charred debris, with much of the flooring destroyed.
The intensity of the flames was such that parts of neighboring homes were also damaged, leaving 27-year-old Lucy Sinzer with little more than the clothes she was wearing.
“I’m just grateful to be alive. I have to start over again. Three years ago, I came from Myanmar with one piece of luggage, and now I have one piece of luggage,” she said in an interview.
Upon returning home from work, Sinzer witnessed the fire engulfing the building and saw firefighters rescue a seriously injured young man, also from Myanmar.
“He looked badly hurt. His skin was literally melting,” she recalled, expressing the lasting impact of that moment.
Reports indicated that the 22-year-old man suffered burns covering 99% of his body, and he was taken to Harlem Hospital in critical condition.
Tragically, a 34-year-old woman was found dead at the site, according to NYC police.
Six others, including a 10-year-old girl, received treatment for minor burns and smoke inhalation but are expected to recover.
Additionally, four firefighters sustained minor injuries while battling the blaze, one of whom fell through the compromised flooring and had to be rescued.
The fire was brought under control by around 1 a.m. on Tuesday, yet emergency responders continued to work throughout the night and the following day to stabilize the building and clear debris.
As of Tuesday afternoon, officials reported that the baby girl remained unaccounted for.
“I’ve never witnessed anything like this,” shared a neighbor, a 79-year-old woman whose own house was destroyed. “The flames were so fierce; I felt the heat even from my window, which cracked from it.”
She described how she first noticed thick black smoke, followed by flames quickly consuming the entire building.
While the surrounding area was noted to be “full of trash,” fire investigators have yet to determine the cause or factors that intensified the blaze, which reportedly started on the first floor.
