Feb 25, 2009 1:33 pm US/Eastern
2 Dead In Queens Fire; FDNY Calls It 'Suspicious'
FDNY: Apartment Appeared To Be Without Smoke Detectors
QUEENS (CBS) ―
-
-
Firefighters are seen here battling a blaze in Oakland Gardens, Queens on Wednesday morning. At least one person has been pronounced dead.
CBS
A fire swept through an apartment that appeared not to have smoke detectors in a residential neighborhood of Queens on Wednesday, killing two people in the city's second fatal fire in two days.
Neighbors reported being awakened by a loud explosion just before the fire broke out on the second floor of a duplex in Oakland Gardens around 6:30 a.m.
"I heard a big bang, like a giant explosion," Tishara Riveras, 14, told local news outlets. "I thought it was a garbage can falling from the sky, but then I heard screaming, lots of screams."
"I was awakened by a big boom. I thought it was a car accident. I looked to my left and I got my family out of the complex," said neighbor Patricia Hobbs.
The cause of the fire was not immediately known, but Deputy Assistant Chief John Sudnik said the apartment did not appear to have smoke detectors.
Fire department spokesman Jim Long said the fire -- which was brought under control in less than an hour -- was considered suspicious and fire marshals were investigating the cause.
The victims' ages and their relationship were not immediately known. Their bodies were found in different parts of the apartment, Sudnik said.
Four firefighters suffered minor injuries.
On Tuesday, an extension cord was blamed for a blaze that tore through an apartment building in Manhattan's crowded Chinatown, killing two people and injuring at least 27. The blaze was so fierce it took 180 firefighters to bring it under control.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
World's Most Useless Facts
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Comments