20 firefighters injured in multiple fires

NEW YORK (FOX 5 NY) - At least 20 firefighters were injured in a 14-hour period in blazes across New York City, said fire officials on Friday morning.

Seven firefighters were seriously injured when a fire broke through the roof of a house in Elmhurst, Queens. The FDNY said the two-alarm fire was reported around 5 a.m. Friday at a home on Case Street.

Flames shot through the roof at one point. A stairwell collapsed inside the home.

It happened hours after a fire in an apartment building elsewhere in Queens injured four firefighters.

That fire was reported around midnight on the second floor of a building on 71st Street in Jackson Heights. Two girls were critically injured.

It was under control in about a half-hour.

On Thursday evening, nine firefighters were hurt as they battled an apartment fire in the Mott Haven section of the Bronx.

The firefighters injured in the three separate blazes were expected to recover.

"Thankfully none of them are critical," said FDNY Commisioner Daniel Nigro. "Two nine-year old girls are fighting for their lives and also a gentleman at the Elmhurst fire."