Four women were left in critical condition after a fire broke out on the top floor of a three-story private home on Thursday, May 27, in Ozone Park, according to authorities.
A fire broke out at 101-10 101st Ave. inside the third floor of a three-story private home a little after 4 a.m., and firefighters rescued four women from the apartment unit, an FDNY spokesperson said.
FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro said that just after 4 a.m., they received a 911 call at the location. He said units arrived in less than four minutes and “immediately went to work.”
“I have to start off by saying I couldn’t be prouder of the way FDNY members operated heroically,” Nigro said. “They pushed up to the third floor with heavy fire showing. They found four victims on that floor. People were all in respiratory or cardiac arrest. They were all pulled out of that fire very early.”
The four victims were quickly transported to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, where they are in critical but stable condition as of Thursday evening, according to Nigro.
Nigro commended the medically trained firefighters as well as EMTs and paramedics who responded to the fire in coordination.
Walter Adler, a paramedic and mobilization coordinator of Emergency Medical Services Public Advocacy Councils (EMSPAC), told QNS that if it weren’t for EMS’ response, the women could have died.
“Two were no longer breathing and two had no pulse,” Adler said. “Thanks to the speed and competency of the EMS units on scene, those four women are, for now, alive in critical condition in an ICU.”
A paramedic at the scene, who asked to remain anonymous, told QNS that thanks to their work with FDNY, the young women are still alive.
“Last night in Ozone Park, hospital-based Jamaica EMS demonstrated we are always ready,” the paramedic said.
The fire was under control by 5 a.m., according to the FDNY.
Nigro said the cause of the fire is still unknown and remains under investigation. However, he added that firefighters did not find a working smoke alarm or a smoke alarm of any kind in the apartment.
“These four women were not alerted to the fire, the call came from an adjoining building … And that’s just very sad,” Nigro said. “We over and over repeat how smoke alarms save lives, and how helpful this would have been.”
Nigro said the fire is not suspicious, and that they’re looking into the possibility of it being an electrical cause.
