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Fire Engulfs Soundview Home Occupied by Squatters, FDNY Says

By  Trevor Kapp and Aidan Gardiner | November 12, 2013 8:06am | Updated on November 12, 2013 11:17am

 A fast-moving fire swept through a Taylor Avenue home early Tuesday, the FDNY said.
A fast-moving fire swept through a Taylor Avenue home early Tuesday, the FDNY said.
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DNAinfo/Trevor Kapp

THE BRONX — A massive fire engulfed an abandoned Soundview home occupied by squatters early Tuesday morning, the FDNY said.

The blaze started about 7:15 a.m. inside 1233 Taylor Ave., near Westchester Avenue, and swept through the building, fire officials said.

One firefighter was rushed to Jacobi Medical Center after suffering minor injuries battling the three-alarm fire, which took about 140 firefighters to extinguish, an FDNY spokesman said.

“The squatters seemed to have evacuated safely,” FDNY Deputy Chief Joe Woznica said.

Witness Syeda Begum described a chaotic scene.

“My mom was screaming, ‘Fire, fire,’” said Begum, 21, who lives a couple doors down from where the blaze began.

“I opened the front door and two houses down was all in flames. I ran to the backyard and smoke was coming up. It was intense. The house was burning up.”

The cause of the fire was under investigation, officials said.