On Saturday morning, a five-alarm fire broke out on 41st Road in Flushing, Queens, New York, leading to at least 22 people injured and one fatality. A Chinese couple managed to escape from the engulfed residence, but everything they had worked hard for since coming to the United States was destroyed in the blaze.
Before 10 a.m. on Saturday, a residential building near College Point Boulevard on 41st Road in Flushing caught fire. The flames quickly spread to two adjacent buildings and escalated to a five-alarm fire.
The New York City Fire Department (FDNY) reported that a 78-year-old woman living in one of the residences was rushed to the hospital in critical condition and later succumbed to her injuries. The officials have not released her name, but reports indicate that the victim was a Chinese woman. Another resident sustained minor injuries in the fire.
Flushing is one of the largest Chinese enclaves in New York City. The five-alarm fire that occurred on Saturday impacted Chinese residences. A Chinese couple, speaking in Mandarin to the New York branch of Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), expressed their gratitude for escaping from one of the residences consumed by the fire but lamented not being able to bring important documents such as passports, leaving behind all they had accumulated through hard work since moving to the United States.
According to ABC News New York, the affected residents of the building could not speak English and were concerned about their passports and other essential personal documents, helplessly watching as the fire turned their homes into charred rubble.
“Some elderly people were living in that unit, so undoubtedly, this fire is a heavy blow for them,” said Douglas Rose.
At the time of the incident, over 250 firefighters and emergency medical technicians rushed to the scene to extinguish the flames and conduct rescue operations. At least 21 firefighters and EMTs were taken to the hospital with injuries, none of which were life-threatening. By Saturday afternoon, the firefighters had managed to contain the fire. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
The Red Cross also arrived at the scene to provide assistance to the affected individuals.
Eyewitness Yezen Al-Swaiti told NBC News, “It’s too terrible, very sad.”
“I can’t describe everything,” Al-Swaiti said. “A firefighter fell from a window, but he caught a rope.”
Another eyewitness described the situation to ABC News New York, saying, “The whole block was pitch dark at one point, the fire just wouldn’t stop. It kept reigniting.”