16 THE QUEENS COURIER • APRIL 27, 2017 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM horror in queens village Five young lives lost in heartbreaking Queens Village blaze Photos by Robert Stridiron and via Twitter/@FDNY Firefi ghters work to battle a three-alarm fi re at a Queens Village home on April 23 that claimed fi ve lives. BY ROBERT POZARYCKI [email protected] @robbpoz Th ere’s still no word about what caused the three-alarm fi re at a Queens Village home on the aft ernoon of Sunday, April 23, that claimed the lives of fi ve residents, none of whom was more than 20 years of age. Fire marshals are still on the scene investigating the tragic tempest that broke out at around 2:36 p.m. on April 23 inside a home on 208th Street between 112th and 113th avenues. Police identifi ed four of the victims as family members Destiny Dones, 20; Jada Foxworth, 16; Rashawn Matthews, 10; and Chayce Lipford, 2. A fi ft h victim, Melody Edwards, 17, was Foxworth’s friend. Dones and Matthews were pronounced dead at the scene; the other three victims died shortly aft er arriving at Long Island Jewish Medical Center and Jamaica Hospital. Nigro stated that “this fi re moved so quickly” that fi refi ghters put out a second alarm for additional units upon arriving at the scene, approximately 4 minutes aft er a passing motorist called 911 aft er seeing fl ames shoot out of the home. “Th e fi refi ghters made a very daring and valiant push into that building to try and save the residents,” Nigro said on April 24. “Th ey knew there were people inside, and we know that the fi refi ghters on the scene did all that they could and more to try and save these children. Unfortunately, all of the people the fi refi ghters were able to bring out perished.” According to reports, the fi re is believed to have broken out on the fi rst fl oor. While the cause remains unknown, investigators have ruled out foul play. Nigro and Mayor Bill de Blasio were on the scene in Queens Village on Sunday aft ernoon, days aft er they mourned the loss of a fi refi ghter who died while battling a Ridgewood building. “Our hearts go out to this family. I’m asking all New Yorkers to keep this family in your prayers,” de Blasio said on April 23. “It bears saying at this moment — the FDNY is going through a lot this week having lost their brother, Firefi ghter William Tolley just days ago, but still the good men and women of the FDNY are doing what they do best — saving lives, protecting people, protecting neighborhoods. Th ey came out in full force even in their moment of pain.” Scores of fi refi ghters worked several hours to bring the fi re under control, encountering heavy smoke and fl ames along the way that hindered rescue eff orts. “People were screaming, ‘Get them out.’ Th e whole sky was black,” neighbor Denise Coleman told the New York Daily News. “Th ere was a lot of smoke. Th e fi re was very bad. Th e fi refi ghters carried some of the children out. Th ey were limp. Th e whole house was on fi re.” WABC-TV reported that a man apparently leaped out of a second-fl oor window and is recovering. Flames also damaged an adjacent dwelling. Firefi ghters brought the blaze under control at about 6 p.m. Th e investigation is ongoing. “Our job now is to get down to the bottom of what happened and do everything we can to make sure that no family ever suff ers like this again,” de Blasio said in a tweet. On April 24, Nigro said that fi re marshals were at the scene all night, and would continue to be there until they fi gure out what led to this tragedy.
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