One person still unaccounted for and officials said there was very heavy fire conditions when they arrived on Sunday afternoon.
“It gives us great pain and sorrow to announce that New York City has lost one of its bravest,” Mayor Eric Adams said.
Adams said 31-year-old Firefighter Timothy Klein was killed while fighting a house fire in Canarsie. Neighbors said the smoke quickly engulfed the sky in the residential neighborhood, CBS2’s Andrea Grymes reported.
“All of a sudden boof! on the window and then the smoke all came out,” Angela Fobe said.
“I see very bad, you know. The flames coming up, you know,” Henricles Paul added.
It started just after 1:30 p.m. in a two-family house at 10826 Avenue N off East 108th Street and quickly grew to three alarms, with more than 100 firefighters responding.
Fire officials said Klein was inside when conditions deteriorated, and the commander ordered all firefighters out.
“Everything seemed to be going routine when suddenly the entire second floor became engulfed in flames. Two of the members that were with him, three of them, were able to escape, jumping out windows and getting out ladders. Timothy was unable to escape,” an FDNY official said.
Five firefighters have non-life threatening injuries and one civilian was treated at the scene. Officials said FDNY members and the staff at Brookdale Hospital valiantly tried to save Klein, but could not.
“Our hearts are with the Klein family, who are experiencing the worst day of their lives and we asked they be in your prayers,” Acting FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanagh said.
There was no immediate word on how the fire started.