Crime & Safety
Queens Fire That Killed 3 Was Intentionally Set, Officials Say
A fire that killed three squatters in an abandoned home in St. Albans last month wasn't an accident, officials now say.
ST. ALBANS, QUEENS — A fire that killed three squatters in a southeast Queens home last month wasn't an accident, officials say.
Investigators ruled the deadly blaze in St. Albans a triple homicide, though cops haven't made any arrests, the NYPD announced over the weekend. Authorities have yet to release the names of the three victims, who were reportedly squatters.
Complaints about squatters living at the abandoned home date back to 2016, the New York Daily News reported.
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The fire broke out just before midnight on Nov. 21 at a house on Farmers Boulevard near Jordan Avenue, according to the police.
Firefighters discovered the three men only after they had extinguished the flames. By that time, they were unconscious and unresponsive.
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It took more than 100 firefighters and over an hour to beat back the flames, a Fire Department spokesperson said. Four firefighters were injured in the process.
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