4 firefighters injured; 1 in freak accident on way to scene

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Four FDNY firefighters were injured-- 3 critically-- responding to a house fire Tuesday started by children playing with a rag near a stove in the Wakefield section of the Bronx.

NEW YORK (FOX5NY) - Three of New York City's bravest remain in critical condition following a fast moving fire in the Wakefield section of the Bronx.

The fire on East 235th St. and Carpenter Ave. was caused by two children playing with a rag near a stove, said fire officials. The fire quickly climbed to four alarms and spread to five buildings.

One firefighter collapsed after suffering a heat stroke and another had a heart attack. A third firefighter was treated and released for serious burns.

In a freak twist of events, one of the firefighters responding to the inferno nearly had his arm torn off when the fire engine he was traveling in to the scene struck a subway beam.

Surgeons were working to save his arm, according to fire officials.

The injured were being treated at Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx.

It took 170 firefighters nearly two hours to put out the flames. No civilians were injured.