By KRISTIN DALTON and JOSEPH OSTAPIUK

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A five-alarm fire at multiple New Springville homes that sent thick black smoke over the neighborhood, injured 20 firefighters and briefly closed a portion of Richmond Avenue is now under control.

The fire began at an attached home on Steinway Avenue shortly after 7 p.m. and eventually went to a fifth alarm at 8:10 p.m. The fire spread to 231, 233, 237 239 and 243 Steinway Avenue, according to an FDNY spokesman.

According to the FDNY spokesman, the 20 injured firefighters received non-life-threatening injuries. Four were considered seriously injured, and 16 had "minor" injuries, according to the department. Details on the injuries were not immediately available.

Photos released by the Fire Department showed the rear section of two homes charred by the flames that had recently been extinguished. Earlier, a video shared on social media showed flames roaring out of the rear of one home.

The cause of the fire is unknown at this point, and Fire Marshals will determine the cause of the fire, the FDNY spokesman said.

More than a dozen FDNY trucks responded to the fire, with multiple alarms piercing the air on an otherwise quiet Saturday evening. Nearby, the NYPD shut down Richmond Avenue to northbound traffic at Nome Avenue for approximately an hour.

WITNESSES DESCRIBE SCENE

A witness on scene told the Advance that more than 100 people from Steinway Avenue and surrounding blocks gathered on the sidewalk to watch the FDNY work to put out the flames. Many shared video and photos on social media, capturing the flames and smoke that surged into the sky behind the Barnes & Noble store on Richmond Avenue.

Mark Zink, a neighbor of the homes damaged by the blaze, said that he was home when he "heard fire trucks coming from everywhere."

Zink said that he "went out and saw all the flames on the house three houses over...and saw the fire spreading."

"I was really worried it was going to spread," Zink said.

At first, Zink said that his family nearly had to evacuate due to the heavy smoke coming from the fire.

"It was really scary, we were really nervous," he said.

Once homeowners of one of the damaged homes returned to the block, Zink opened up his home to the distraught family.

"They're very upset, they're crying...they're in total shock," he said.

The flames and smoke could be seen billowing out of the tops of the houses as FDNY ladder trucks stretched with hoses on the fire. At that point, the NYC Office of Emergency Management issued a notification advising residents in the area to keep their windows closed and reduce outdoor activity while smoke is present.

At first, the FDNY reported five firefighters were hurt, but the number climbed to 13 and then an announcement of 20 shortly before 11 p.m.