The 50-mile-per-hour winds “had a big part in it,” FDNY Chief Sal Cassano said during a press briefing at the scene. “Firefighters did a great job of locating the fire,” he added, noting that on that windy day the smoke was swirling, making it difficult to determine where the fire started.
The firefighters also did a great job of “playing catchup,” Cassano said. Fires that begin in cocklofts, especially in old structures like those that were destroyed, travel quickly. “It’s hard to get ahead of that,” the fire chief said.
Edina Padilla, an 18-year-old resident of 91-12 96th Street, said she was the first to call police after her small Yorkie, Fendi, alerted her that smoke was billowing out from her neighbor’s roof.
“I was laying down — almost fell asleep — but the dog was barking too much and I knew something was wrong,” Padilla said. She went outside, saw the smoke, informed her neighbor and called police. When she returned to her house, “everything was black.”
Pulling her shirt over her face, Padilla entered the house. She was unable to see and had difficulty breathing, but was able to grab Fendi before running outside again. “I only found the dog because he was barking,” she said.
Standing in her slippers in the cold, wrapped in a blanket, Padilla held Fendi and watched as firefighters sprayed water through windows and roofs. “I lost everything,” she said. “I saw my house go up in flames. This was a shock. I didn’t know what to do.”
Fire marshals were investigating the cause of the fire and the Red Cross was finding shelter for the victims.
|
|
