FDNY Challenged by High Winds at Fire that Injures 16 People

Eight police officers and three firefighters were among the 16 people hurt in a high-rise in the Rockaways Friday morning.

According to NBC4 New York, two residents were critically injured in the fire and two others were seriously injured. The eight police officers were being treated for smoke inhalation but were expected to recover, the TV station reported. The three firefighters suffered minor burns.

The fire broke out on the 11th floor of a 13-story residential building in Seaside, overlooking Rockaway Beach.

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Firefighters gained entry to the burning apartment by going through another apartment via its balcony, the station reported.

FDNY Queens Borough Commander Edward Baggott told the television station firefighters made that balcony attack so the high winds would be to their backs. Baggott said the firefighters did not want to go head to head with the wind.

Baggott told the station that only one family was displaced by the fire. He said the high winds could have made the fire as bad as the Dec. 28 fire in the Bronx that killed 13 people.

The cause of the fire is under investigation, the station reported.