Queens 5-Alarm Fire Kills 78-Year-Old Woman, Injures 21 Firefighters

One Dead, Dozens Hurt in Flushing Blaze

A five-alarm fire swept through a row of century-old wood-frame homes in Flushing, Queens, Saturday morning, killing a 78-year-old woman and injuring more than 20 others, including at least 21 FDNY firefighters.

The FDNY responded to a call of a fire on the first floor of 132-15 41st Road in Flushing at around 9:52 a.m., according to Newsday. By the time units arrived, two buildings were already fully engulfed and flames were spreading into a third, according to Fox News and BNO News.

FDNY Chief of Fire Operations Kevin Woods said the buildings were part of a row of five wood-frame structures built in 1930. Wooden walls, floors and roofs let the fire spread fast, according to BNO News. Woods said that made it tough for crews to get ahead of it. "Fire travels very, very rapidly," Woods said, according to Ground News.

A Rescue Without a Hose Line

Firefighters got word someone was trapped on the second floor of the main fire building. They pushed in anyway, under what Woods described as high heat and zero visibility, according to Fox News and BNO News.

They found the occupant and pulled the person out without the protection of a hose line, according to BNO News. That represents about as dangerous as interior firefighting gets. The occupant was taken to a hospital in serious condition.

A 78-year-old woman died from her injuries after being transported to NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital in Queens, the NYPD confirmed to Newsday. Police did not release her name. Newsday and BNO News describe the fatality and the serious-condition rescue with enough difference in their accounts that it remains unclear whether she was the same person pulled from the second floor or a separate victim, pending further detail from the FDNY.

A second civilian was hospitalized with non-serious injuries, according to BNO News.

The Firefighter Toll

Counts of the injured firefighters vary slightly by outlet and by hour, which is normal in a fast-moving mass-casualty response. Fox News put the number at 17 injured firefighters, plus two EMS workers and two civilians, for a total of 21. BNO News reported 19 firefighters and EMS workers hurt among 21 total injured. Newsday reported 21 injured FDNY firefighters among more than 20 total. Ground News, citing FDNY updates through the afternoon, reported 23 total injuries, including 21 firefighters, with five sustaining moderate-to-serious injuries and one hospitalized in serious condition.

None of the firefighter injuries were described as life-threatening. Woods thanked the hospitals treating FDNY personnel, according to Fox News.

Scale of the Response

This wasn't a small fire. The FDNY raised it to a fifth alarm at 11:57 a.m., according to Newsday, which corresponds to roughly 250 firefighters deployed under standard FDNY alarm protocols, per Fox News. Ground News reported 84 units and 270 personnel on scene by mid-afternoon.

The fire was brought under control by early afternoon. Newsday reported control at 1:11 p.m., while BNO News put it at 1:47 p.m. Either way, it took FDNY crews roughly three to four hours to knock it down from the initial 9:52 a.m. call.

Three buildings sustained heavy damage. BNO News reported an estimated 10 to 12 residents were displaced, with some staying with relatives and others getting help from the American Red Cross. City officials urged nearby residents to close their windows and avoid the smoke and warned of traffic disruptions around College Point Boulevard and Frame Place, according to Newsday and Ground News.

What's Still Unknown

The cause of the fire remains under investigation, according to every outlet reporting on it. FDNY fire marshals were on scene, per Newsday, but no findings have been released as of Saturday afternoon.

The full extent of firefighter injuries remains to be determined once hospitals finish evaluations. Whether the 1930s wood construction that fire officials flagged as a factor in the fire's speed will prompt any renewed scrutiny of older wood-frame housing stock in the neighborhood is also unknown. FDNY has not indicated a timeline for the cause determination.

For a neighborhood that just lost part of a century-old row of homes and a 78-year-old resident, those answers can't come fast enough.