By Michael V. Cusenza
Nine firefighters and two civilians were injured Friday morning in a two-alarm residential fire in South Richmond Hill. Two of the Bravest suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
The blaze broke out shortly after 7 a.m. at a two-family home at 95-36 111th St., according to the City Fire Department. Nearly 100 firefighters responded to the inferno that took more than 90 minutes to be deemed under control.
The cause of the blaze is being probed by the FDNY’s Bureau of Fire Investigation.
According to the FDNY, there were 12,260 non-structural fires in Fiscal Year 2024, a 3-percent decrease from the same period the previous year. There were 1,959 serious fires in Fiscal 2024, a 19 percent decrease from Fiscal 2023, which may have contributed to a drop in fatalities and injuries. Life-threatening fire scene injuries dropped by almost 25 percent. Non-life-threatening fire scene injuries have decreased 13 percent when compared to Fiscal 2023 and have been trending downward for three straight years. Civilian fire fatalities fell to 74 in Fiscal Year 2024 from 102 in Fiscal Year 2023. Civilian fire fatalities per 100,000 people decreased by 25 percent.
Photo Courtesy of FDNY
The Bureau of Fire Investigation is still investigating the cause of the fire.
Additionally, in Fiscal Year 2024, the Bureau of Fire Prevention conducted 22 percent more inspections compared to Fiscal Year 2023. Violation orders issued increased seven percent and violation orders corrected increased by four percent. The number of summonses issued increased by 21 percent which brings the Fiscal Year 2024 numbers back to Fiscal Year 2022 levels after a decrease in Fiscal Year 2023.
