Two people were rushed to the hospital in critical condition<\/a> from the scene, a storefront with two residential floors above it on College Point Blvd. near Avery Ave. in Flushing.<\/p>\n | EARLIER: \u2018We had heavy fire on all three floors’: 2 FFs trapped in collapse during rescues at fatal NYC fire<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThis is a difficult and tragic day,\u201d FDNY Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore <\/a>said at the scene.<\/p>\n The fire erupted in a third-floor unit shortly before 12:30 p.m. It took firefighters a little over four minutes to respond. \u201cThey find heavy fire on the scene,\u201d Bonsignore said.<\/p>\n Three people leapt from windows, the FDNY said. EMS medics performed CPR on victims in the street.<\/p>\n Yibo Wang, 28, was returning home from the grocery store when she arrived to find the flames consuming her building.<\/p>\n \u201cThere were four people being carried out. One woman was unconscious and on the floor. One of the men being carried out, his head was covered in blood,\u201d said Wang. \u201cThere was a woman who ran back screaming. She ran back as the firemen were holding her.\u201d<\/p>\n Three victims died at the scene, including the child. A fourth victim died after he was taken to New York-Presbyterian Hospital Queens<\/a>. At least five other civilians were hospitalized, with two in critical condition.<\/p>\n Two firefighters fell through a stairway from the first to the second floor that collapsed. They were rescued by fellow firefighters and are in stable condition.<\/p>\n As many as a dozen people were living in the third-floor apartment where the fire started, according to a neighbor.<\/p>\n \u201cThe apartment was vacant. Nobody was supposed to be living there. They were squatting,\u201d said the neighbor, 30, who declined to share her name. \u201cThey were using one outlet and they had a ton of extension cords connected to it.\u201d<\/p>\n It took some 230 firefighters and EMS personnel about two hours and 15 minutes to bring the four-alarm blaze under control, FDNY officials said.<\/p>\n FDNY Chief of Fire Operations Kevin Woods said the fire was already heavy on all three floors when first responders arrived. Firefighters used a ladder to rescue a victim trapped on the second floor.<\/p>\n The cause is under investigation.<\/p>\n Heavy winds accelerated the blaze.<\/p>\n \u201cThe wind definitely impacts firefighter operations,\u201d Woods said. \u201cThe fire travels with the wind.\u201d<\/p>\n Six firefighters in total were treated for minor injuries.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n \n A Boston firefighter suffered cardiac arrest during a fire in Hyde Park\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n \n Commissioner Lillian Bonsignore, the first former EMT to lead the FDNY, reflects on the department\u2019s uneasy 1996 merger with EMS\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n \n Advocates and lawmakers warn staffing shortages at the World Trade Center Health Program are causing treatment delays for sick 9\/11 responders and survivors\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n \n Federal investigators say the officer had recently returned to duty after a stroke and heart failure diagnosis, highlighting gaps in return-to-work medical clearance\n <\/p>\n March 16, 2026 10:21 AM<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00b7\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a92026 New York Daily News.![\"FireRescue1](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1773749734_441_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"US-NEWS-FDNY-COMMISSIONER-FORMER-EMT-MARKS-1-NY.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1773676693_919_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"US-NEWS-SEPT11-WTC-HEALTH-PROGRAM-FILEPIC-NY\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1773749735_260_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"FireRescue1](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1773749736_803_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
Visit at nydailynews.com<\/a>.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.<\/p>\n
![\"FireRescue1](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/1773749736_643_.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n