A fire in Queens on Sunday seriously injured a 7-year-old girl and her mother and hospitalized two Bravest, a day after a series of fires in the borough destroyed a string of homes and injured four people, including two firefighters.
The girl and her 29-year-old mother were rescued from a house fire on 37th Street in Jackson Heights around 7:15 a.m., authorities said.
“It was a challenging morning in Queens,” said FDNY Deputy Chief Michael Woods. “Our dispatch office began receiving calls of a fire on the first floor at 68-08 37th Road. We had units on scene within three minutes.
“The fire was confined to the first floor,” Woods said. “We had approximately 60 firefighters on scene and approximately 20 medical staff. The fire was contained in approximately an hour.”
Fire officials said the girl and her mother suffered serious injuries but are expected to survive.
Four more people were injured, including two firefighters, and all were in stable condition at area hospitals, fire officials said.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Officials said the fire broke out as fire inspectors were searching through the rubble of a massive, five-alarm blaze Saturday afternoon in Queens Village that destroyed seven homes, injured four people and forced the evacuation of more than 30 residents. The cause of the blaze has not yet been announced.
Police sources said four people, including two firefighters, were injured in the blaze but were not seriously injured. Fire officials had earlier reported that 14 people were injured, including 11 members of New York’s Bravest Corps.
The blaze, at 88-21 Francis Lewis Street, broke out just after 4pm on Saturday, with more than 200 firefighters, paramedics and paramedics ultimately on the scene.
“It happened suddenly,” an exhausted resident told The Post on Sunday. “The wind blew hard and blew everything in this direction.”
“I looked out the window and heard a crackling noise and then I saw smoke coming from the back of the house,” the man said. “Everybody was already outside.”
Law enforcement sources confirmed that the strong winds ignited and spread the fire to all the homes, which all shared an attic – the space between the ceiling of the highest room and the roof – which connected all the buildings together, creating a burner effect.
Some residents of destroyed homes returned to the scene on Sunday to gather any personal belongings they could salvage.
“We are here collecting as many belongings as we can,” said a resident who gave her name as Pavi. “We’ve also got some pairs of shoes and will buy more.”
A restoration company was also on site, ensuring the site was safe.
“The next step is to seal off the building and make it safe,” said Joel Urena, 38, of East Coast Restoration. “Finish clearing the house and securing the building from further damage. That’s it until the investigation is complete. The fire department is still investigating.”
