2 dead in fire in Far Rockaway, Queens

FAR ROCKAWAY (WABC) -- Two people are dead after a fire Sunday in Far Rockaway, Queens.The fire started after 1 p.m. at a two-story house on Cornaga Avenue.

Fire marshals are going over each and every part of the house. The Fire Marshal told Eyewitness News that there is "something odd about this", saying it is highly unusual to have this much fire shooting out all of the windows on the ground floor - especially at the time of day the blaze broke out.

Eyewitness New spoke with the man who tried to save the two people who were trapped inside.

"I opened the door, and I shouted, 'Barbara, get out!'" said Alex Franklin.

Alex kicked down his neighbor's door, desperately trying to get inside of the home that was on fire.

Crews were faced with ferocious flames reaching all the way to the attic. The first units did run a hand line and eventually knocked down the fire on the first floor. Firefighters then found the two victims in the kitchen in the back of the home - both had died just a few feet apart. Officials say the conditions inside the home complicated the operation.

"The house was very cluttered, extremely on that first floor where the fire was, so it hampered the first two units trying to make a push to knock down the fire," says Fire Chief Joseph Ferrante.

Officials say because of the extent of the victim's burn injuries, the medical examiner will have to identify the pair.

"Barbara rarely came outside, actually, I probably saw Barbara 10 times in 24 years," says Carl Franklin.

Investigators are currently on the scene with the medical examiner's office. Officials say the fire appears to have started in the kitchen in the back of the house where both victims were found.