April 22, 2025 By Shane O’Brien Several online fundraisers have raised more than $90,000 for Astoria residents displaced by a four-alarm fire that ripped through two buildings on 31st Avenue on Easter Sunday. The blaze ignited inside a three-story mixed-use building at 21-33 31st Ave. shortly before 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, April 20, before spreading… Read more »
Jan. 31, 2025 By Shane O’Brien State Sen. Mike Gianaris and Assembly Member Claire Valdez have introduced legislation aimed at ensuring fire victims in New York State have access to housing following their displacement. The bill is inspired by the ongoing plight of tenants displaced by a five-alarm fire at 43-09 47th Ave. in… Read more »
Dec. 4, 2024 By Bill Parry Flushing resident Atahualpa Rodriguez pleaded guilty in Brooklyn federal court on Wednesday to committing arson of a multi-story apartment building on Parsons Boulevard last January. One firefighter was injured in a partial ceiling collapse and another firefighter suffered first-degree burns battling the fire Rodriguez set. “Today, the defendant…
Dec. 1, 2024 By Lloyd Mitchell A firefighter in Queens suffered minor injuries while battling a fire at a vacant building early on Sunday morning. Fire Department sources said the blaze broke out just before 5:05 a.m. on Dec. 1 inside a vacant home at 117-36 Smith St. in South Jamaica. The first responding…
Sep. 6, 2024 By Bill Parry A 72-year-old man was killed after a fire engulfed his illegal basement apartment in South Richmond Hill on Thursday afternoon. The FDNY received a call just after 5 p.m. of a house fire at 94-14 132nd St. Firefighters confirmed the blaze broke out in the basement. The FDNY…
Sep. 6, 2024 By Bill Parry and Lloyd Mitchell The FDNY received a call at 11:31 a.m. of a house fire at 95-26 110th St. in South Richmond Hill on Thursday. Firefighters from Squad Company 270 and Ladder Company 143 arrived moments later and confirmed the blaze originated in the attic space of the…
Sep. 4, 2024 By Bill Parry and Lloyd Mitchell The FDNY battled a massive 5-alarm inferno that engulfed a Jamaica tire shop on Tuesday afternoon, sending thick black smoke skyward that could be seen from all corners of the borough for hours. The blaze broke out at the Five Boroughs Tire Services two-story building…
Aug. 30, 2024 By Bill Parry The massive barge blaze that raged for hours on Newtown Creek in the Blissville section of Long Island City Tuesday night was sparked by an exploding lithium-ion battery that was among the scrap metal onboard the vessel, new FDNY Commissioner Robert Tucker confirmed Thursday. During a press briefing with his… Read more »
Aug. 25, 2024 By Lloyd Mitchell Firefighters in Queens battled a two-alarm fire at a pair of commercial buildings early on Sunday morning where more than a dozen drums of highly flammable chemicals had been stored. FDNY sources said the blaze broke out at about 12:56 a.m. on Aug. 25 inside 133-02 101st Ave.…
Aug. 22, 2024 By Bill Parry The FDNY battled a fire at a Richmond Hill e-bike store early Thursday morning for the second time in 17 months. Once again, a Hazmat unit was called on to deal with the presence of lithium-ion batteries after one of the batteries caused the blaze that engulfed the…