Thomas Tracy
New York Daily News
NEW YORK — A massive fire tore through a row of six Queens homes early Thursday, displacing 40 residents and injuring three firefighters battling the blaze, officials said.
The flames erupted inside a closed business on Jamaica Ave. near 110th St. in Richmond Hill around 1 a.m., the FDNY said.
The fire quickly ran up the two story building into an attic space, where it spread to adjoining buildings, FDNY Assistant Chief John Hodgens said.
“We had an advanced fire on arrival and the business was closed,” Hodgens said. “It went to a common area in the ceiling and once it gets there we have to try and get ahead of it because it gets into the other buildings.
“It’s all wood structures and old,” Hodgens said about the buildings. “It was a fast moving fire.”
More than 200 firefighters were called in to put out the inferno. Six buildings were damaged before the flames were doused by 3:45 a.m., authorities said.
Three firefighters suffered minor injuries.
Hodgens said 40 residents managed to escape their burning homes without injury. They spent the chilly night in a heated MTA bus as the Red Cross helped them find temporary housing.
FDNY Fire Marshals were still investigating the cause of the fire Thursday morning.
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