A pair of fires in Queens and the Bronx that erupted a day apart have led to the discovery of three dead victims — including two burned bodies discovered in what was first thought to be a vacant apartment, FDNY officials said.
Firefighters on Thursday found a second body inside a burned-out building on Third Ave. near E. 140th St. in Mott Haven, almost a full day after a massive fire broke out there and a first victim was found dead, FDNY officials confirmed.
The second body was found in a section of the building where the ceiling had collapsed, a source said.
More than 140 firefighters, EMTs and paramedics rushed to the 5 a.m. blaze Wednesday to find heavy flames shooting out of the El South Bronx Deli and the apartment above it.
“Units initially made entry but due to heavy fire conditions and the threat of collapse they were driven out of the building,” an FDNY official at the scene told NY1.
Two firefighters and an emergency medical technician were taken to the hospital with minor injuries as they battled the blaze, which took over four hours to bring under control.
Firefighters first thought that the upstairs apartment was vacant but neighbors told them someone was living there.
When the fire was extinguished, firefighters found the body of a man in the apartment. Neither victims’ names have yet been released.
Earlier Thursday in Queens, a man was found dead after a fire tore through a two-story home on Lefferts Blvd. home near 95th Ave. in Richmond Hill.
When firefighters arrived at the 6:45 a.m. fire, they found a raging blaze with heavy smoke in the rear of the building. The man was found dead in the rear of the home near where the fire started.
Authorities are still trying to identify the victim, who was badly burned in the fire, sources said.
More than 79 firefighters, emergency medical technicians, and paramedics responded to the scene. The fire was extinguished within 30 minutes.
Fire marshals are working to determine the cause of both fires.
