A firefighter who responded to a late-night house fire in Queens was seriously injured after falling through the first floor into the basement.
The city fire department responded to the two-alarm blaze at the vacant house on Ocean Crest Boulevard near Hartman Lane in Far Rockaway around 11 p.m. Monday.
People in the neighborhood said the home — all three floors of which were on fire when firefighters arrived at the scene — had just been sold.
"I feel very sad for the people because they recently bought this house. Very, very sad," one neighbor said.
"Scared. I don't want my house to catch on fire," another man said. "I mean, it's the day before Christmas, so I feel really bad for these people."
The firefighter who fell into the basement was hospitalized and was expected to survive, FDNY officials said. Two other firefighters suffered minor injuries.
Fire marshals were investigating the cause of the blaze.