The FDNY had a massive response to a three-alarm house fire in Richmond Hill on Wednesday morning.
After receiving a call at 10:22 a.m. reporting a fire on the second floor of a two-story private home at 87-35 126th St., firefighters arrived to find heavy smoke billowing from the wood-frame building. The FDNY transmitted a second alarm at 10:33 a.m. after the fire extended to a brick two-story home next door. The blaze went to a third alarm at 10:59 a.m. bringing a total of 33 units and 138 firefighters and EMS personnel to the scene.
Firefighters rescued two trapped civilians from the second floor and EMS transported the man and woman to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, where they were listed in stable condition with minor injuries.
Firefighters cut numerous holes in the roof and knocked down the main body of the blaze.
“There was fire blowing out the back of the building for a long time,” a neighbor said.
The inferno was placed under control at 11:57 a.m. and FDNY fire marshals will determine the cause of the fire. Inspectors from the city’s Department of Buildings found significant fire damage that extended next door to 87-37 126th St. and issued full vacate orders at both addresses. The DOB inspectors issued emergency orders to seal each building in the interest of public safety and requested that the respective building owners hire a professional engineer to submit a report to the Department on the structural stability of their buildings.
