Person missing after house fire kills 1, injures 9 in Elmhurst, Queens. Here's what we know.
One person was killed and nine others were injured in a four-alarm house fire in Elmhurst, Queens Monday night.
FDNY officials said it was just before 7 p.m. when the 911 call came in. More than 200 firefighters were forced to battle the blaze at a home on Dongan Avenue near Broadway in the bitter cold.
FDNY Assistant Chief David Simms said four people had to jump out of the rear windows, and two people were rescued from the second floor.
At the height of the fire, rescuers learned two people were missing, and they were still likely in the basement. A specialized rescue unit waded through three to four feet of water inside to search, FDNY officials said. They found a 34-year-old woman dead, and the other is still unaccounted for. Dive teams were on the scene Tuesday searching for the missing person, who is believed to be in the basement of the building beneath four feet of water trapped below.
Police said six people were rushed to the hospital, including one in critical condition. Two of the victims were children, 10 and 13 years old.
It's unclear how the fire started, but firefighters said flames were initially reported coming out of the first floor. The cause remains under investigation.
The Department of Buildings said the second floor of the structure had collapsed, and the roof was completely destroyed. The fire spread to neighboring properties and caused heavy damage to them, the DOB said. In total, three properties were impacted, and the DOB has issued full vacate orders to all of them.
The Red Cross was assisting 36 people after the fire.
"The whole thing was going up so fast"
For many, the scene was a terrifying sight.
"The whole thing was going up so fast. It was terrible," one person said. "The flames really coming out. I knew it was bad, really bad. One of the cars was on fire in front."
"I run to the door, and then there's smoke at the end of the block with, like, flames coming out of it," Caitlin Clarke said. "My sister is dashing out. My mom is dashing out."
"They lost their everything"
As many watched in disbelief, embers exploded into the night sky.
"My mother, she told me it was from the basement. So she saw the smoke coming and she screamed," said Subash Gurung, who lives next door with his family. "[It was a] very cold night. It was terrible. And my apartment is filled with smoke. I didn't have nowhere to go. I'm relying on my friend tonight."
Rachel Ji said her heart was breaking as she described those who lived inside the home.
"Like, I saw the lady, that house. She was crying so hard," Ji said. "I feel so bad for the [victims], like, because I don't know where you can go to. They lost their everything."
