6 escape Huntington Station house fire

Six people escaped a raging house fire Saturday morning in Huntington Station, Suffolk County police and fire officials said.

Fred Steenson Jr., first assistant chief with the Huntington Manor Fire Department, said there appeared to be no serious injuries, although all six residents - a family of four adults and two children - were taken to Huntington Hospital for smoke inhalation.

Police said a call came in shortly after midnight for a fire on Third Avenue near West 10th Street, about a block west of New York Avenue.

Steenson said the apparently accidental fire, which appears to have started in the back of the house, in the kitchen area, had swept over nearly the entire first floor by the time firefighters reached the scene.

As flames raged, one of the occupants ran up the block and frantically banged on a neighbor's door, said Karina Trejos, 19, who answered to find the occupant and family friend crying outside in pajamas.

"She's like, 'My house is burning! Please help me!' " Trejos recalled Saturday.

Trejos' twin sister, Mercedes, dialed 911 and looked out to see the smoke and flames spreading from the back of the home to the front and engulf the structure, which is now uninhabitable.

The Huntington and Greenlawn fire departments also responded, Steenson said. Firefighters took 30 to 45 minutes to extinguish the blaze, he said.

"The guys did a phenomenal job with all the snow and everything," he said.

One issue was shoveling out fire hydrants buried under mounds of snow, Steenson said. "It wasn't too much of a problem on this fire, but we know there are areas where we need to make sure we can get to the hydrants when they're needed."

Steenson said many departments have been sending crews out to clear snow from hydrants, but he suggests residents consider removing snow from neighborhood hydrants as a precaution. He said the department donated gift cards to the family. The Trejos sisters said the family is devastated and is staying with relatives.

"One day you have everything," Karina Trejos said, "and then in seconds it's all gone."