Fire burns through 4 homes in Van Nest, Bronx, 2 firefighters injured
VAN NEST, Bronx (WABC) -- Two firefighters were hurt while battling a three-alarm fire that burned through four homes in the Bronx.
Firefighters could be seen on the roof of one of the homes in the Van Nest section trying to get the blaze under control.
The fire broke out around 6:20 a.m. in one home and quickly spread to three others on Wallace Avenue near Rhinelander Avenue.
John Del Giorno was over the scene in Newscopter 7 just minutes after it broke out:
Authorities say the fire broke out in the back of the home.
The family who lives in the home is devastated watching their home go up in flames, but says they're thankful everyone made it out safely.
Jasmine Fusco says she was asleep in her home at 6 a.m. Monday morning on Wallace Avenue when her husband, who had just left for work, called her.
"He was telling me to get out of the house, the house caught on fire," Fusco said.
She didn't want her face shown on camera, but she says her entire family, all six adults, and three kids, made it out safely.
But they watched as all of their belongings went up in flames.
"It just hurts that we have a lot of memories and a lot of things were left behind," she said.
Authorities say the fire started in the back of the home and quickly jumped to other houses to the right, even melting some of the exteriors of the homes behind it.
No one in the homes was hurt.
"Units responded and stretched multiple hands lines in a punishing operating into the fire buildings to put this fire out," said Deputy Assistant Chief John Sarrocco, FDNY.
Some 138 firefighters managed to bring the fire under control at 7:38 a.m. Two firefighters were taken to area hospitals with minor injuries.
Once the flames were put out, Fusco and her family went inside their home of six years to rummage through the debris for anything to salvage.
They managed to find a few things, but the majority of their belongings inside were damaged by the fire or water.
While thankful to be alive, she says it's hard to grasp that their lives are now completely changed.
"It just happens from one day to another. Today we have it all, tomorrow who knows," she said.
The Red Cross was on the scene providing assistance to displaced residents. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
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