Astoria Apartment Fire Sends 5 To Hospital, FDNY Says

ASTORIA, QUEENS — An overloaded power strip sparked a fire in an Astoria apartment building Tuesday evening, injuring six people, according to authorities.

The fire broke out just before 8 p.m. on the second floor of 42-13 23rd Ave., a three-story apartment building between 42nd and 43rd streets, an FDNY spokesperson said.

Five people were hospitalized, but their conditions were not clear, the FDNY said. A sixth person was treated for injuries at the scene but declined to be hospitalized.

It took 60 firefighters about half an hour to get the fire under control, the FDNY said.

By Wednesday morning, the FDNY had determined that the fire had been caused by a power strip, and issued a reminder not to overload extension cords with multiple items, appliances or other power strips.