RIDGEWOOD, Queens (WABC) — Nearly a dozen people were injured after a massive fire ripped through an apartment building in Queens on Saturday morning.
The three-alarm fire broke out around 4 a.m. at an apartment building on Flushing Avenue in Ridgewood.
Videos captures firefighters on scene as heavy flames and thick smoke billowed from the apartment building. On Saturday morning, crews continue to douse the flames of what FDNY Assistant Chief David Sims called a “deep-seated and stubborn fire.”
According to the FDNY, responding firefighters found heavy fire from a tire store on the first floor of the building. The fire quickly spread to the second and third floors.
Initially, firefighters attempted to battle the fire from the inside, but due to a collapse in the rear of the store, units were forced out and needed to operate from the outside.
Four firefighters suffered minor burns while battling the fire. Five other people were also injured. They were all taken to the hospital for treatment.
Resident Robert Rodonis described to Eyewitness News his escape from the fire.
“Once you opened the door, the smoke came in. So, I just grabbed what I could and came out. We got the dog, the cat up there,” Rodonis said.
More than 120 firefighters and EMS personnel responded to the fire.
The Red Cross says that it has a team currently on scene connecting with impacted residents.
Authorities are now trying to determine the cause of the fire.
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