Firefighters rescue woman from burning home in Roslyn Heights
The victim is alive and was taken to the hospital with critical injuries.
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A fire broke out in Roslyn Heights late Sunday night. Fire officials say the flames were intense when they showed up at a home on Schoolhouse Lane around 11 p.m.
“You could see fire coming out of the rear of the building,” said Albertson Fire Chief Donald McMahon III. “And we didn't know until after we got there that there was somebody in the house.”
Family members told firefighters that an elderly female resident was trapped inside the house. Officials say they heard her calling out from the basement and rescued her through heavy fire conditions.
McMahon says his crews were on the way home from another fire when they got the call.
Neighbors say they were shocked at how quickly the fire grew.
“My son called the 911,” said Shahid Syed, a neighbor who lives across the street and saw the smoke. “I called the owner, and he rushed to come back. And in a few minutes, it was all in flames.”
Broken windows and blackened walls are the only evidence that can be seen from the front of the house, but from the back, officials say, there is extensive damage.
They added that although the fire is not suspicious, the home is uninhabitable and three adults are now displaced.
The victim was taken to the hospital with critical injuries, according to fire officials.
“It could have been a lot worse, and it wasn't,” said McMahon. “And great work by everybody. It's the whole reason she's alive right now.”
