Three family members died as flames ripped through their home in Bayside in a two-alarm fire early on Sunday morning.
Fire Department sources said the blaze ignited at about 2:40 a.m. on Feb. 16 inside a residence on the 3300 block of 208th Street between 33rd and 34th Avenues.
FDNY Chief of Department John Esposito said that the first responding units were alerted to a smoke condition by residents along 34th Avenue, and conducted a canvass of the area to determine the source. Moments later, they spotted heavy smoke emanating from the basement of the 208th Street residence.
“We had fire in the cellar, and that fire extended from the cellar up to the first floor through the walls and a little bit into the second floor,” Esposito told reporters at a press conference Sunday morning. “Heavy smoke condition throughout the entire building. So heavy fire in the cellar.”
As FDNY personnel began fighting the fire, they also located two unconscious people in a first-floor bedroom and a third unconscious individual in the basement. Police sources said the victims were a 56-year-old man and two women, ages 54 and 90. Sources believe the victims were related to one another.
All three victims were pronounced dead a short time after being pulled from the fire. The city’s Medical Examiner’s office will conduct autopsies to determine exactly how they died.
Fire Commissioner Robert Tucker nonetheless mourned the three residents who perished in the blaze.
“We have three people who lost their lives in a fire and … that’s unacceptable to me,” Tucker said. “We’re gonna do everything at the FDNY to make sure that fire deaths stay low. We certainly are thinking about the families that are affected by this.”
More than 100 FDNY personnel from 25 units responded to the fire. While no serious injuries were reported to them, Chief Esposito noted that the death toll from the fire nonetheless impacts those who worked on the job.
“Our firefighters do medical runs, obviously, a lot of fires, car accidents. So, anytime they have that exposure, it’s traumatic,” he noted. “We notify our Counseling Service Unit for for all our members that are affected by this.”
The blaze was brought under control at about 4:10 a.m. Sunday. FDNY Marshals are now investigating the cause of the deadly fire.
