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NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — At least three people are dead after a fire at a home in Elmhurst, Queens early Saturday.
Firefighters say there are people who lived inside who are still unaccounted for, CBS2’s Christina Fan reported.
Neighbors were woken by the smell of smoke around 5:30 a.m. Firefighters said all three floors of the complex on 48th Avenue and 91st Street were engulfed in flames when they arrived.
As they went to clear the building floor-by-floor, firefighters found two bodies on the second floor and third body on the third. They were told eight people lived inside. Two are still unaccounted for.
“We had a large volume of fire on all three floors of the building. In the process of our searches, we have confirmed three [dead on arrival] in the building,” said FDNY Chief of Fire Operations Thomas Richardson.
The fire was under control before 9 a.m., but not before the roof of the home collapsed. Investigators say it appears to have started on the ground floor.
A man who lived there described a harrowing escape through the smoke and flames.
“I grabbed what I can, boots, because I was sleeping. Knocked on several doors just to see if anybody’s here… Once I opened the door, I saw the flames shooting from the basement up. So, if it wasn’t for the basement door creating a barrier, I probably wouldn’t have made it out,” he said.
MORE: Dozens Of People Displaced By Early Morning Fire At Passaic Apartment Building; ‘It’s A Tragedy’
In addition to the three known fatalities, four other people were hurt, including a firefighter who fell through one of the floors. Officials said those injured are expected to recover.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, however CBS2 heard from neighbors there were multiple complaints about squatters in the building. A recent complaint on the Department of Buildings website shows as many as 60 people were alleged to have been living there at one point.
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