NEW YORK, April 23 (Xinhua) -- Five people, including three children, died in a house fire in Queens, New York City on Sunday afternoon.
The fire broke out shortly after 2:30 p.m. in the Queens Village neighborhood of Queens. The two-story home was engulfed. Local TV news footage showed flames chewing through the roof and roaring in upstair rooms of the house.
"This is a devastation of a family," Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio said, speaking at the scene of the fire.
He said it was "a fire that moved very, very quickly, and the loss was horrendous."
Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said witnesses reported hearing a series of loud booms, and saw someone tumble from a two-story window. The person fell onto a porch roof and then a lawn and survived.
