STATEN ISLAND — Five people were injured in a fire that ignited inside a vacant building on Park Avenue in Port Richmond Saturday afternoon, according to an FDNY spokesman.
Several units were called to a blaze inside the 1.5-story home located at 205 Park Ave. at around 3:05 p.m., said the spokesman.
According to the spokesman, the all-hands response resulted in 12 fire engines and over 60 firefighters at the site.
The FDNY spokesman said the windows were boarded up, slightly delaying the firefighters efforts on scene.
Units placed the blaze under control as of 3:27 p.m.; there was significant structural damage to the inside of the residence, said the spokesman.
Three firefighters and and two civilians were treated for minor injuries and transported to Richmond University Medical Center, the spokesman added.
It remains unclear if the two civilians treated were inside the vacant home before the fire sparked.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, the spokesman added.
DOB COMPLAINTS
City Department of Buildings records indicate that at least 14 complaints have been filed since 2012 — five last year alone — that indicated the building was “vacant, open and unguarded.”
An inspection conducted on Oct. 22 in regard to the property being used as a “dumping site,” stated that the issue was resolved, according to Buildings Department records.
Last month, the Advance detailed a similar situation — in which an abandoned home in West Brighton, with a long history of complaints, caught fire.
These so-called “zombie” homes are typically in foreclosure and abandoned. With hundreds of these abandoned homes across Staten Island, recent state legislation aims to end the blight by requiring banks and mortgage providers to report and maintain vacant and abandoned properties.
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