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Fire Sweeps Through Row Of Townhomes On Staten Island

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- An extra-alarm fire ripped through a row of townhomes Monday afternoon in the Rossville section of Staten Island.

Thirteen firefighters were injured, one of them seriously, the FDNY told 1010 WINS and WCBS 880.

As Joe Biermann reported from Chopper 2, the fire broke out just after 4 p.m. Monday in the row of townhomes or condos in the Woodbrooke complex, at 134 Hampton Pl. on Staten Island.

Two young adults noticed black smoke and called 911, the FDNY said.

The fire broke out in one two-story unit and rapidly spread to others through the attics, Biermann reported.

The blaze eventually engulfed four structures and was raised to a fourth alarm, the FDNY told 1010 WINS. Two structures suffered extensive damage and their collapsed, while the other two sustained some fire and smoke damage, WCBS 880 reported.

The flames spread quickly, giving Robert Wigrin, 13, and his sister, Mary, 9, seconds to escape.

"I came outside. I saw smoke," Robert said. "I saw black; everything was black."

Deputy FDNY Chief Richard Howe said fighting the fire was a challenge due to lightweight wood construction.

Fire Sweeps Through Row Of Townhomes On Staten Island

Maria Wigrin, the mother of the two children who escaped, said a laundry blaze in another complex did similar damage.

"Every fire they had, it takes out like two or three units," she told WCBS 880's Marla Diamond. "They're not made the way they should have been."

A complex of similar construction in Edgewater, New Jersey was infamously destroyed by fire in January – prompting lawmakers to propose a ban on lightweight wood construction in that state.

A total of 168 firefighters and 39 units from around Staten Island responded to the scene of the Monday blaze. A total of 13 suffered injuries, the FDNY said at the scene.

One was seriously injured and reported chest pain, the FDNY said.

At least 30 people were also displaced by the fire, and the American Red Cross of Greater New York was putting up at least one family.

The fire was brought under control just before 6:30 p.m., the FDNY said. The fire was under investigation, but was not considered suspicious.

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