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3 People Hurt in Suspicious Fire Possibly Sparked in Landlord Feud: FDNY

By  Trevor Kapp and Aidan Gardiner | November 25, 2015 12:33pm 

 They were hurt in a fire on 35th Street, an FDNY spokesman said.
They were hurt in a fire on 35th Street, an FDNY spokesman said.
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DNAinfo/Trevor Kapp

ASTORIA — Three people were injured in a suspicious apartment fire that may have been sparked during a feud between landlord and tenant Wednesday morning, FDNY officials said.

The flames broke out on the second floor of 31-18 35th St., near 31st Avenue, about 11:15 a.m., officials said.

"We were told [it's linked to] possibly a landlord-tenant dispute. So, when we hear something like that, we go with suspicious," said FDNY Debuty Chief Brendan McSweeney.

Abdul Miah, 47, who is visiting with his family from London, was on the second floor eating cereal when the doorbell started ringing, he said.

"My aunt opened the door and there was black smoke all along the staircase. My aunt was screaming, 'Fire! Fire! Fire!" Miah said.

He, his wife and their 9-year-old daughter desperately scrambled to safety from the window, he said.

"We didn't know how to get down to the street. My wife was going to jump, but somebody was yelling, 'Don't jump!'" he said.

They found a ladder and climbed to the street, where they turned to see the flames blast out the buildings' windows, he said.

"The flames were coming out on the street — orange. They were quite high. Firefighters were outside assessing how to get in. They were getting the ladders ready," Miah said.

About 105 firefighters struggled for about an hour to bring the fire under control, officials said.

"We had small pockets of fire in the walls and the ceilings on the second floor as well as the third floor," McSweeney said.

"It took a while to contian the fire. We had a decent length for our hose stretches," he said.

Three people were injured and treated at the scene, officials said.