Four people including a three-year-old were killed and another dozen were injured after a huge blaze erupted at a New York City apartment building.
The fire began around 12.30pm and quickly engulfed all three floors of a brick building located in the Flushing neighborhood of Queens.
Three desperate residents attempted to escape the inferno by jumping from the top floor of the building, while firefighters rescued a person trapped on the second floor.
Brian Zhang, an employee at a nearby kitchen design store, told the New York Times that in the middle of the fire, he heard a woman shouting in Mandarin: ‘My kid is still in the apartment!’
He also recounted her saying that the child was only three years old. ‘It was very desperate,’ he told the outlet. ‘I have a kid too, but that moment, there’s nothing we could have done.’
Horrified bystanders also watched as first responders performed CPR on severely burned victims on the street outside the building.
A witness named Vivian Marie told PIX11 News that she saw an elderly man with a ‘really bad bloody face’ and ‘pretty bad first-degree burns.’
‘[I’ve] never experienced anything like this, only saw it on television. Experiencing this made me cry a lot. It was very devastating,’ she said.
Four people including a three-year-old were killed in a fire in Queens, New York, on Monday. A firefighter is pictured approaching the blaze on a fire engine ladder
Five firefighters were hospitalized for minor injuries, including two who fell through a staircase that collapsed
The fire yielded a massive response, as around 230 firefighters and paramedics rushed to the scene. A large group of firefighters is pictured near the burning building
Lillian Bonsignore, the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) commissioner, initially confirmed three people had died at the scene.
‘This is a difficult and tragic day. There were several victims of this fire,’ she said.
The department later updated the death toll after a fourth adult man succumbed to his injuries on the way to the hospital.
It is unclear whether any of the other fatalities resulted from people jumping out of the building to escape the blaze.
The New York City Police Department (NYPD) provided an update on Monday evening and said that four men and three women are in stable condition at local hospitals. None of the victims have been publicly identified.
Five firefighters were also hospitalized and are being treated for minor injuries. Two of them had fallen through a staircase that collapsed after rushing into the burning structure. They were rescued by other firefighters.
‘The fire department did an extraordinary job under difficult circumstances, putting this fire out and saving people,’ Bonsignore said at the scene.
‘I can’t thank them enough for their continued efforts and commitment to life safety.’
The inferno yielded a massive response, as around 230 firefighters and paramedics rushed to the burning building. The fire was brought under control around 2.45pm, according to the FDNY.
The fire was brought under control around 2.45pm, according to the FDNY. The burned building is pictured after the blaze was put out
Fire marshals with the FDNY are determining the cause of the fire. An FDNY fire marshal is pictured in front of the damaged building
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani posted a statement on X on Monday afternoon that said: ‘We’re mourning the loss of four New Yorkers after today’s devastating four-alarm fire in Flushing.
‘My heart is with their families, loved ones and every neighbor impacted. Thank you to the FDNY firefighters and EMS workers who rushed in within minutes, risking their lives to rescue residents and bring the fire under control.
‘Several were injured and we’re wishing them a full recovery. Residents have been displaced and the building suffered significant damage.’
The cause of the fire is being investigated by FDNY fire marshals.
