NEW YORK (AP) – Three men were killed and three other people were critically hurt in a three-alarm fire in the Jamaica section of Queens early Sunday, the fire department said.

Firefighters were called to a two-story home on 162nd Street at about 6:18 a.m., according to Firefighter Tim Hinchey, a department spokesman.

The fire, which apparently started in the basement, came up the basement stairs and burned through the stairs leading from the first to the second floors, he said.

The residents who died were Warren Rubino, 33, Dharvindranaoth Seunarine, 43, and Wladyslaw Gnojski, 48.

The injured included an 11-year-old boy, a 44-year-old man and a 44-year-old woman, police said.

Four firefighters suffered mostly minor injures, Hinchey said. One firefighter was taken to New York Weill-Cornell Burn Center with burns to his neck, he said.

The blaze was brought under control at about 7:07 a.m., he said.

The closest fire hydrant to the fire was covered with garbage, forcing firefighters to move to the next one, Hinchey said. He said it was not likely that the blocked hydrant caused a delay, but said residents should be careful not to cover hydrants on their streets.

The cause of the blaze was under investigation, he said.