By Stephen Stirling
Miraculously, no one was killed in the fire, which broke out around 11:45 p.m. and quickly spread throughout the 53-unit apartment complex at 10-56 Neilson Ave., according to New York Fire officials. Fire officials said 27 firefighters and five residents were treated for minor injuries. Red Cross spokeswoman Rebecca Callahan also said five people were taken to area hospitals because of pre-existing medical conditions not related to the fire.The cause of the blaze was still under investigation as of Tuesday evening, but it was not deemed suspicious, according to the FDNY.Lt. Steven Sharpe was one of several firefighters on the scene who fearlessly risked life and limb to get residents trapped by the flames out of the building safely. Sharpe rushed into a top-floor apartment 20 minutes into the fire and carried a 3-year-old girl to safety as he whisked her family down the stairs, moments before the top floor erupted in flames, causing the roof to collapse on the apartments below. “They took a little extra chance because of the known life hazard, trying to save people,” FDNY Deputy Chief Bob Maynes said of the firefighters. “They did a great job, they did do it.”More than 200 New York City firefighters helped battle the blaze and were still working to put out remnants of the fire more than 12 hours later. FDNY officials said the bitter-cold temperatures and a stiff wind hampered their efforts to control the inferno, both freezing water in hoses and fanning the flames. By 2 p.m. Sunday, all that remained of the six-story apartment building was an ice-coated shell.A resident of the building who identified himself only as Victor said he had lived there for more than 20 years and is at a loss for where to turn next.”I had a rent-stabilized apartment. What happens to me now?” he said.The Red Cross set up a makeshift shelter at PS 53Q, just two blocks away from the doomed apartment building, and Callahan said arrangements were being made with local hotels and the city's Department of Housing Preservation and Development to provide temporary residence for those displaced by the blaze. Red Cross spokesman Larry Geiger said as of Tuesday 108 adult residents and 60 children had registered with the group. Geiger said by Sunday night, several of the residents were given temporary shelter in the Westway Motor Inn in East Elmhurst, which served as a similar safe haven for those marooned by Hurricane Katrina.Fire officials deemed the remnants of the apartment building unsound and said engineers from the city Department of Buildings would analyze the structure further, but said the building would almost certainly have to be torn down. Callahan said the outpouring from the community was both immediate and uplifting, with residents bringing food and clothing to PS 53Q within hours after it was opened to families. Jackie Bascon brought pushcarts full of old clothes to the school throughout the day and humbly said she was just doing her duty as a good citizen.”All in all, thank God no lives were lost,” Bascon said. “The community as a whole just rallied together. It's something about New Yorkers, we just come together to help one another in emergencies.”Reach reporter Stephen Stirling by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 138.
