One person in critical condition following North Shore house fire; neighbors detail scary scene

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Just over 12 hours after a fire tore through a home in New Brighton, neighbors told the Advance/SILive.com they feared the worst for the house’s occupant.

On Friday night, FDNY responded to a blaze at 208 Benziger Ave. near the intersection of Bismark Avenue and Jersey Street. According to an FDNY spokesperson, the fire spread to the second and third floors of the three-story house.

FDNY reported two individuals were transported to Richmond University Medical Center, one in critical condition, and one with minor injuries.

While the identifications of the injured were not released, nearby residents told the Advance/SILive.com a woman lived in the house.

“At first I just saw lights flashing,” said one person, who declined to provide their name. “An [older] woman lives there, I don’t know if she made it out alive.”

Another neighbor, who requested anonymity, claimed they saw emergency personnel “doing chest compressions” on an individual that had been brought out of the house.

One hundred and six firefighters and EMS personnel from 25 units responded to the fire, which was called in at 9:58 p.m. and placed under control at 10:53 p.m.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

“It’s a shame”, one neighbor added, “it always happens around Christmastime.”