NEW YORK -- At least nine firefighters were injured in a fire in Queens. The fire broke out on Tuesday evening and grew to five alarms before being placed under control early Wednesday morning. Several families have been forced from their homes.
Tuesday night, the wind was gusting at around 30 miles per hour, quickly spreading fire to nearby buildings.
Firefighters pulled up to the two story building on 59th Street in Woodside around 5:45 p.m. Tuesday.
It took more than 200 first responders and 50 units to knock down the flames, which they believe started in the back of the complex.
In the end, the fire spread to four buildings and injured nine firefighters.
"I seen a lot of firefighters, like three of them get taken in a stretcher. Looks like a lack of oxygen. Hopefully everybody affected will be OK," one witness said.
Those 9 firefighters are expected to be OK, suffering non-life threatening injuries.
About 18 people were living in the affected homes. All of them have extensive damage and are being evaluated by the department of buildings.
The Red Cross is now helping them with temporary accommodations. The NYPD is also on scene.
At least nine firefighters were injured in a five-alarm blaze tearing through homes in Queens.
The FDNY responded to the scene at 37-18 59th Street in Woodside shortly after receiving the call around 9:45 p.m. Tuesday night.
They found the home fully engulfed in flames that have now spread to neighboring homes. The FDNY says three homes in total have been affected so far.
The injured firefighters were taken to Cornell Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
