Twenty-two firefighters were injured during a house fire in Staten Island’s Arden Heights neighborhood, FDNY officials said Friday evening.
The fire department received the call about the fire at 88 Shotwell Ave at around 1:30 p.m. As of 4:21 p.m., the blaze was “under control,” officials said via Twitter. Earlier in the day, officials said that the fire had spread to an adjoining home, the back of the first home had collapsed, and there was “heavy fire throughout.” All in all, more than 200 firefighters and paramedics responded to the scene, FDNY officials said.
Strong winds stoked the fire and made it harder to control, FDNY Chief John Hodgens said in a Friday evening press conference.
“With the amount of fire and the wind condition, it was a really difficult fire,” he said.
Two firefighters were trapped by the flames on the second floor of one of the homes, Hodgens said. One jumped off the second-floor balcony, and the other was rescued from the second-floor window. A third was hit by falling plaster and lost his breathing apparatus, leading to smoke inhalation.
“I cannot emphasize enough that this was a very close call for the FDNY,” said NYC Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh. “We could have lost three members today.”
The three seriously injured firefighters were taken to Staten Island University Hospital Ocean Breeze, according to FDNY. They were awake as of Friday evening, Kavanagh said.
“They’re alert. They’re talking. They’re cracking jokes, which we’re very grateful for,” she added.
The other 19 firefighters have minor injuries. No civilian injuries have been reported.
FDNY officials said they had not yet figured out the cause of the blaze.
Video shared by the FDNY on Twitter shows more than a dozen firefighters working on the burned-out husk of the house. Smoke hung in the air above the ruined building.
The city’s Office of Emergency Management warned people near the site of the fire to shut their windows and avoid smoke.
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