Classes go on at Bayside’s P.S. 41 after a leaking cylinder explodes in a closed-off section

Students at P.S. 41 Crocheron in Bayside were back in class on time Wednesday, the morning after an unknown substance blew up at a construction site inside the school. The work was in a section of the building that is currently unused.

A blast inside the building at 214-43 34th Ave. first reached the FDNY through a 911 call placed at 5:49 p.m. the previous evening, Sept. 22. Hazmat teams went in to handle a cylinder that was leaking. Five people were hurt: two civilians and three firefighters, all with minor injuries that were not life-threatening. EMS brought them to hospitals in the area. Contractors got to work clearing the construction area as soon as it was over, and the FDNY said the incident was closed shortly before 10 p.m.

Queens house fires in Woodside and Bellerose

The first day of fall, Wednesday, Sept. 23, kept Queens firefighters busy. In Woodside, flames broke out at noon on the ground floor of a two-story private house at 70-51 45th Ave., on the stretch between 72nd Street and Queens Boulevard. The FDNY sent 79 firefighters and EMS workers in 21 units. A civilian suffered minor injuries but declined treatment at the scene. Crews had the fire under control by 12:35 p.m. Fire marshals will determine the cause.

Shortly after 2 p.m., another 911 call reported a burning home, this one in Bellerose at 83-59 240th St., between Hillside Avenue and 83rd Avenue. Crews arriving there found heavy flames on the first and second floors. Once again the department dispatched 21 units carrying a total of 79 firefighters and EMS personnel. Four firefighters were injured, all minor, and EMS took them to local hospitals. The blaze was declared under control a little before 3:15 p.m., and investigators are looking into what started it.