Dozens of people had to jump out of an upstairs window to escape a house fire in Queens, New York, on Sunday.
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Among the wounded, the bride and her six-year-old daughter reported to the New York Post.
People couldn’t get out because of the bars in front of the windows. “They must have jumped out the window upstairs,” says Mike Bowcar, a 15-year-old neighbor.
The fire started just before 8 am, and 22 citizens and a firefighter were taken to hospital, according to the authorities.
The house was filled with people to celebrate the wedding until the early hours of the morning.
No loud noise was heard until the next morning when several people were still in bed.
“They still don’t know what caused the fire, but some are talking about a gas leak,” explains one of the guests.
Newly married Patrick Fargado made three trips to the burning house to pick up the children who remained inside.
“He went to get the baby and went back inside for his stepson. When he wanted to go back there for the third time, the stairs filled with smoke,” says his wife, Elizabeth Altaminaro.
“They destroyed the air conditioner that was put upstairs and started jumping (…) All we saw were people jumping out of the window, they fell to the floor, some were injured in the process,” says Mike Bowcar.
