By Marlyn Montilla
Nov 26, 2023, 3:08 PM EST
About 10 fire officials were injured and at least 19 residents were evacuated when a fire broke out in a building in western New York on Thanksgiving Day, officials said.
The three-alarm fire started Thanksgiving night on the corner of Bergenline and 53rd Street in a building that also houses a pharmacy on the first floor.
Residents had to evacuate their apartments when the building two doors down on Bergenline Avenue collapsed.
An explosion caused the roof to collapse with firefighters on top of it, injuring them and several were taken to a hospital with injuries ranging from smoke inhalation to broken bones, North Hudson firefighters said.
“I got a call saying three members were missing, we had help and your heart drops,” said West New York Fire Chief David Donnarumma.
The fire chief said the explosion happened while officers were fighting flames shooting out of the windows of the three-story building. The explosion turned the neighboring building into rubble, NBC New York reported.
“It is a sad day for the municipality of West New York… people are displaced, they lost their residences and their belongings,” he said. “It is a difficult day for firefighters, not because we had to work but because of the injured. Now their families will suffer too.”
Fortunately, firefighters were able to get everyone out and help several residents. Others were able to escape on their own.
Specifically, 10 firefighters were injured and one is hospitalized, according to authorities from the Western New York Fire Department. Four neighbors had minor injuries.
The flames were put out, but at least 19 people were displaced. The Red Cross said it was helping at least 10 families.
The fire started in a bedroom of an apartment on Bergenline Avenue. The cause of the fire has not yet been determined, but the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office said there are no signs of foul play while the investigation is ongoing.
Keep reading:
- Two dead after residential fire in New York; more than 100 firefighters in combat
- Woman set fire to several houses and robbed store with a gun as soon as she was free: accusation in New York
- Three people from the same family died in a fire in Brooklyn that left at least 14 injured