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A Roman Catholic convent fire on Staten Island was later ruled arson, leaving Sister Regina Gegic with three fractured vertebrae after she jumped from a second-floor window before dawn on Oct. 12, 2013.

The fire broke out around 5:30 a.m. at the convent on the grounds of St. Joseph Hill Academy on Hylan Boulevard in the Arrochar section, according to fire officials. Sister Denise Martin called 911 to report the blaze and told the dispatcher that Gegic had jumped from an upper floor and needed an ambulance. "Please hurry," she said on the recording.

A later investigation by public radio station WNYC found that the city's 911 system routed Martin's call electronically to the fire department instead of connecting her directly to a fire dispatcher. Martin had to repeat the address more than once before help was sent, and a fire engine that would typically arrive in under five minutes did not reach the convent for about seven minutes.

Gegic was hospitalized in intensive care at Staten Island University Hospital. Four firefighters and another nun were also injured, authorities said.

Fire marshals determined the blaze was set with devotional candles taken from inside the convent. The NYPD's Hate Crime Task Force opened an investigation into whether the Catholic order had been targeted because of its religion, but the Staten Island district attorney's office later said it found insufficient evidence to support that theory.

Police arrested three 19-year-old Staten Island men, Vincent Calder, Diego Tuso and Christopher Sasso, who officials said broke into the convent to steal a chalice, vestments and other items before Calder ignited fires on two floors. Then-Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said the men had been using drugs before the break-in.

All three pleaded guilty in March 2015. Tuso and Sasso admitted to burglary and were sentenced to perform 1,000 hours of community service each. Calder pleaded guilty to arson and was ultimately sentenced to 20 years in prison. The convent's historic building reopened in February 2016 as a retreat center after about a million dollars in repairs.