A raging fire broke out in Queens overnight, and police sources say it was related to fireworks for a nearby Diwali celebration.
The fire started around 2:25 a.m. Wednesday on Lincoln Street in South Ozone Park. Thick, heavy smoke thrust into the sky, as the back of a house became engulfed in flames, lighting up the entire neighborhood.
Three people were asleep inside the home, but they made it out. The FDNY said two people were taken to the hospital with non-serious injuries.
“I was up and I smelled the smoke and saw the fire. Came running down, called my mother and father-in-law. They noticed the fire at the same time, too. So we basically all just ran outside at the same time,” said witness Mohiuddin Saif.
Family member says he called to report the fireworks
Saif lives next door to his relatives and said he called the police around midnight because he saw fireworks shooting into their backyards.
“That’s when I called 911 and made a report. I was told that somebody would come and check. But then I was waiting, nobody came, nobody checked up,” he said.
Hours later, the aftermath of the fire was devastating. Video from the scene captured leftover boxes of fireworks still in the street.
Now, the family is trying to save whatever they can, including bags of clothing and other items that weren’t destroyed.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.