by Magee Hickey
QUEENS (CBS) - Two firefighters were injured battling a house fire Tuesday morning in the Richmond Hill section of Queens. Officials say the home was so cluttered with personal possessions that they had a tough time rescuing the homeowner and putting out the flames.
Bob Fuchs, the 74-year-old homeowner, had lived in the three-story wood-frame house on 87-33 114th Street for close to 50 years, and apparently he never threw anything out.
"We call it a 'Collyers mansion.' A lot of debris in the house, from the floor to the ceiling, it's tough conditions for our guys to get through to put out the fire," said FDNY Chief Patrick Ginty.
Ginty was referring to a famous fire in 1947 where the Collyer brothers died in their Harlem brownstone because it was so chock-a-block full of clutter. In this incident, the sleeping homeowner was more fortunate as he was pulled out a window from his cluttered bedroom to safety by one firefighter after the fire broke out around 3:45 a.m.
"The fire department was great. They saved my life, they got me out. They pulled me out through a window," said Fuchs, who is now being put up at a neighbor's house.
One firefighter inside burned both his hands after he became trapped behind a mountain of debris on the second floor. He was taken to a local hospital where he's listed in serious, but stable condition.
A second firefighter was also hospitalized for unknown injuries suffered in the fire.
Joe Elias, Fuchs' neighbor, says he was aware of the collection of clutter inside the home.
"His mother and sister died a while ago. He never threw away anything of theirs," he said. "Bob was very close to them. The possessions were very dear to him."
Besides his possessions, the owner also cherished the 12 stray cats he took in, and now he doesn't know what happened to them. It's not yet known if the cats perished in the fire. Fire marshals say they saw no trace of them.
There's no word as to what sparked the fire. An investigation is underway.
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