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A massive fire engulfed a historic New York church on Thursday, as bright orange flames moved through the building and firefighters battled to extinguish the inferno.
The five-alarm blaze initially began at a residence attached to the First Reformed Church of Astoria in Queens around 6:45 p.m., the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) said.
Responding units spotted the fire in a vacant two-story rectory before it rapidly extended to the church, the FDNY said.
“While operating on the exterior, a portion of the roof started collapsing, walls collapsed, and some bricks hit one of our members in the helmet. He was treated by FDNY Rescue Medics, our FAST Unit, and other EMS personnel and then taken to an area hospital,” Chief of Fire Operations Kevin Woods said.
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More than 270 fire and EMS personnel responded to the scene before it was fully under control at 10:30 p.m. Six firefighters were injured. Images of the fire showed flames ripping through the structure as firefighters carried out an exterior attack to extinguish the blaze.
Kevin Harris, who said he was the last head deacon of the church, told local media that the community is reeling over the extensive damage the house of worship is expected to suffer.
“It hurts; it hurts my whole family. My sister was just over there. My niece went to this church. My mother went to this church. We have elders from Astoria Projects that went to this church,” Harris said. “People got married, baptized… this is our life.”
“We’ve been going here—I moved out here in ’67,” he added.
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A nearby resident, who gave his name as Jack, said he arrived at the scene of the fire at the same time that firefighters responded.
“They looked like they were trying to localize the fire, keep it down, then it seemed to spread to the church,” he told FreedomNewsTV. “And it looks like they’ve just been trying to put it out in the church ever since. And it looks like it’s been a bit stubborn. It’s not going away,” he added.
The church, which opened sometime in the 1830s, was also damaged during a fire more than a century ago on Jan. 14, 1888. That blaze damaged the floor, some pews, and the church organ, according to the New York City Chapter of the American Guild of Organists.
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On Friday, state Assemblywoman Diana Moreno, whose district includes Astoria, praised the FDNY for its work to extinguish the blaze.
“Thank you to our first responders for protecting us,” she wrote on X. “My sincere wishes for a speedy recovery to the six firefighters who sustained non-life-threatening injuries.”
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