Multiple fire departments battled this house fire on Fern Drive...

Multiple fire departments battled this house fire on Fern Drive West in Jericho on Friday afternoon, May 20, 2016. The two-story home was destroyed. The cause of the fire was under investigation. Credit: Kevin Imm

A Jericho woman escaped a house fire Friday afternoon but suffered serious injuries, Nassau County police said.

The woman, 23, was in critical condition after being taken to a hospital to be treated for internal burns and smoke inhalation, police said.

A male victim, 48, refused medical attention, according to police.

Flames swept through the house on Fern Drive West at about 1:46 p.m. The entire front of the house was already burning out of control, the smoke visible for miles, when the first responders arrived and met three adults who had escaped the blaze on their own, said Jericho Fire Chief John Lottes, the scene commander.

Part of the house collapsed and the fire took almost five hours to be placed under control, he said.

“A lot of it had to do with the extent of damage to the house and our difficulty in getting water to the pockets of fire that were buried in the collapse,” Lottes said.

No firefighters were injured, he said, but adjoining homes had siding and window damage.

The cause of the fire was under investigation.

With Ellen Yan

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